San Antonio has become known around the country as a city on the rise in part by encouraging the growth of young technology companies like my employer, Rackspace, and the many cybersecurity and biotech companies that are creating new jobs and products all over town. To build on that reputation, we need to welcome rideshare technologies which are revolutionizing urban transit. Here’s why:
Better transit can help build a more vibrant downtown.
Uber and Lyft are mobile applications that connect riders to drivers through a couple of clicks on a phone. They are providing more options to consumers who want to move around their city quickly, easily, and with a pleasant experience. Increased transportation options will help San Antonio continue to build a vibrant and attractive downtown. With an appealing downtown, San Antonio will attract and retain more of the young, educated professionals who are the lifeblood of any successful city. They bring skills into the market – everything from Python software development to genetic engineering – and fill crucial roles in established companies and startups alike.
Today, major cities are competing fiercely to attract and retain these educated young people who have made their preferences clear both in surveys and by voting with their feet. They want to live in a city that has good, affordable housing, live music and other entertainment, plenty of parks, recreational activities and convenient public transportation options. As noted in the recent “Young and Restless” report, San Antonio needs to continue to make large strides to attract this demographic. Buying and maintaining a car, fighting traffic and searching for expensive parking are a big turn-off for this demographic and many others.
Having used both taxis and rideshare, I can tell you that the service experience is night and day. Catching a cab in San Antonio when you really need one is not easy or reliable – whether you are setting one up through a dispatcher who seems annoyed to talk to you, or trying to hail a cab downtown. With Lyft and Uber, you are provided an estimated time of arrival, the estimated fare for your trip, the driver’s name, and it’s a cashless transaction. The convenience and attention to the service experience makes rideshare an easy choice.
Uber and Lyft do what traditional taxis don’t.
Uber and Lyft are wildly popular in every city where they are doing business, especially among the young and educated.
Why are they more popular than traditional taxis? Put simply, they are reliable and convenient and offer a top-notch service experience. Uber and Lyft are an enticing option to use when city residents are going out for a night on the town, heading to work, or running an errand. Their technology and business model allow customers to have confidence that rides will be available quickly in almost all parts of town, at all times of the day. Traditional taxi companies do not offer this speedy service.
Traditional taxi companies need to evolve or dissolve.
While living in Chicago, my husband and I were involved in a minor car accident where our cab driver rear-ended the car in front of us. My head and legs hit the plexi-glass shield but for the most part I was okay. The cab driver yelled at us to get out of the cab and then started raising a fuss that we pay him the $12 fare. My husband paid him so that he would stop causing a scene and could return his focus to make sure everyone was okay. We left the scene shortly afterwards, but thinking back on it, there was no way to find out who our cab driver was, or that the transaction ever took place. With Uber and Lyft, the ride is tracked through the app. In the event of an accident, there is proof and information is exchanged and recorded.
These services will connect all of San Antonio.
Welcoming Uber and Lyft into our city does not solely benefit the downtown movement. These companies will make it easier for San Antonians in the suburbs to conveniently go from Stone Oak to the RIM, head to grab a bite at the food trucks at The Point Park and Eats, or head downtown and back without the dreaded traffic tangles and parking searches that can take all the fun out of catching a show at the Tobin Center or drinks at the Brooklynite.
They’re safer for all of us.
By using Uber and Lyft, we will drive up the usage of rideshares over individual cars on the road, which will also make our city streets and highways safer. There will be fewer drunk driving incidents and less of the fast-growing menace of texting while driving. Already, San Antonians are using the early Uber drivers here when they know they are going out for dinner and drinks and do not want to worry about driving home impaired.
City averse to risk?
There is a larger issue, in this whole debate, about whether San Antonio should welcome Uber and Lyft. If we do so, we will continue to build our brand as a city on the rise, one that embraces start-ups and new technologies. But if our City Council caves into the special interest lobbying of the traditional taxi companies, it will bring back the old image of San Antonio as a second-tier city resistant to change.
*Featured/top image: A Lyft driver picks up a fellow rideshare supporter after a City Council Public Safety Committee meeting May 7, 2014. Photo by Iris Dimmick.
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Taxis Rejoice: Rideshare Regulation Kicked Back to Task Force
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Just use a bus, we need to promote an institution thats been around for 35 years.
I like that, evolve or dissolve
I don’t get the argument that Über/Lyft is easier unless people don’t know about the Hailacab app for taxis. It shows me where the closest cab is to me, gps tracks him to my door, and I pay via the app, cashless and trackable. Is this app something a lot of people maybe aren’t aware of in this debate? Also I wonder if the ride sharing drivers insurance covers me in an accident (I really don’t know, maybe someone can educate me if they have the same liability coverage as taxis). I know regular insurance covers guests in your car but I can imagine insurance companies are either already or quickly disavowing responsibility for cab driving passengers on personal insurance plans – there’s a reason the cabs pay higher insurance rates than a car used for personal purposes. I agree that SA desperately needs better public transportation but I don’t yet see that cabs aren’t cutting it by following regulations (at least I’ve never had to wait long using the app). Would love to see a better transit system like I experienced living in Chicago, trains would be great but more frequent buses would be a start.
Uber insurance provides $1 million insurance coverage for all passengers. Uber does a national criminal background check on all drivers, to include checking driving records. Uber also requires drivers to submit proof of insurance and registration, which is kept on file and a reminder is sent out when they are getting close to expiring. If they expire, that driver’s Uber app is deactivated until proof of renewal is submitted. In Austin, even with the Hail-A-Cab app, Uber pick up times are FAR faster than any cab in the city. And, with Uber, you’re getting a friendly driver, in a clean smoke-free car. Uber drivers pride themselves in delivering superior customer service since the passenger submits a rating of that driver. Every driver you encounter will strive for that 5-star rating. Can you say the same for cabbies? And, if your Uber driver takes a longer route, you can contact Uber and have your fare reviewed. If there was a more efficient route, Uber will issue you a refund. You can’t say the same for cabs. Before anyone dismisses Uber, you should really give them a try. Download the app and use promo code 6i2cL and get a $20 credit for using Uber. That’s my code and I use Uber every time I need a ride whether is after a fun night on 6 street or a ride to the airport. It beats trying to find a cab on 6th street at 2 in the morning on a Saturday! With them, I know who my driver is, what my driver is picking me up in, and the peace of mind that I’m getting a ride within minutes. No cab in Austin can top that. Uber is AWESOME and I’m so glad they’re in Austin!
Am confused about why this is even an issue. Tend to agree with Ginger above. The HailACab app should do the same as this. What’s missing? It doesn’t text you back the driver name – so what? Same with an online charge (versus cash). Those are changes that could (undoubtedly would) be made on their HailACab software end.
The only aspect that makes sense to me is that the cabbies are unionized whereas the Lyft/Uber people wouldn’t be, right? – therefore they’re cheaper. And the drivers would be more afraid of losing their jobs in TNCs than traditional cabs.
The article says “Why are they more popular than traditional taxis? Put simply, they are reliable and convenient and offer a top-notch service experience”
If Yellow cab isn’t – then a competitor would do well to come in an counter – right?
Understand that so many give their personal experiences and the customer service is better – but is that why we’re doing so much? What if a new cab company came into town that did better service than Yellow cab? Would we have CC meetings and a new regime of regs?
The taxi monopoly has no incentive to improve upon their service. Taxis (including the one I took home from the airport Saturday) are usually run-down, foul-smelling and driven manically.
With Uber and Lyft, I get a contractor that knows he needs to provide a pleasant experience to maintain his ratings and keep working for the service. Taxis don’t care.. why should they?
Efficient and convenient service positively praised by tourist and local riders.
While all providers provide the ordering convenience and trackability of their respective apps, Yellow Cab fares have increased over the years as they historically have not had any strong competitors. Should my only option be to pay standard $50 dollars plus tip for a ride from 410 to downtown? As a consumer, I want to have choices and know that I can shop and compare fares. San Antonio leaders should allow and promote a competitive ‘drive for hire’ market.
This is article is on point. Adding Uber and Lyft are great additions to the city. I personally like Uber and Lyft over taxis for the following reasons: 1) The customer service that Uber and Lyft provide is top notch compared to taxi’s. 2) The app that Uber & Lyft provides over the hail cab app are more user friendly. 3) The cleanliness of an Uber and/ or Lyft car is much better than a taxi cab. Overall, San Antonio must have more transportation options to continue to attract top talent to the city.
As a driver for both uber and lyft, they are definitely insured. Insurance is provided by the company. We still have to pay for our insurance, the company only covers is while we are driving with a customer. In my totally biased opinion, I prefer ride share most of the time to regular taxis. The experience is usually a more pleasant one, and the drivers more helpful. I have taken yellow cab, and have had some good experiences with them, but given the choice I will choose uber or lyft.
Regardless of whether you are for or against Uber or Lyft, I think the point needs to be made that there are laws that should be followed. You can’t just go break laws because they aren’t good laws – the people behind both Lyft and Uber have enough money to hire lobbyists.
Another hangup I have to rideshare is that none of these companies are based locally. There isn’t a local Lyft office if I have a complaint. I mean I don’t even know if they are registered to actually do business in Texas considering it’s all done through the app.
Irrespective of how the services are actually carried out, rideshare just seems dirty to me. A bunch of Silicon Valley supported companies come into our city and break our laws but no one complains because Lyft and Uber are “cool.” I don’t remember anyone flipping tables to make Cabstr happen at Geekdom. To the point of Taxi’s and their unions/lobbyists – Lyft and Uber VC backers have enough money to put up the same lobby power, we shouldn’t be thinking of them as small companies trying to get a leg up in the world because they are not.
All I’m saying is play by the rules or lobby to get the rules changed then I have no problem.
Rideshare seems dirty because it is dirty; nothing more, nothing less. For all of the uber-is-so-cool drum banging, no one ever presents the other side — the other side that has stopped ride-sharing dead in its tracks in other cities.
Believe it or not, rideshare apps are inaccessible to large swaths of the general public, because not everyone has a smartphone or device that supports apps, handicap inaccessibility is a very real concern for city councils having to manage policy concerning public transportation companies, accepting only credit/debit cards is another concern, Uber’s blanket insurance does not circumvent the policies that the driver’s existing current insurer has in place. Many of these guys don’t even report their status to their insurers. Also, the type of people who drive for and use ride-sharing apps are disproportionately represented, which for some city governments creates an unnecessary socioeconomic divide between those who take advantage of such services, those who might, and those who cannot. These were all concerns raised by city councils around the country and aren’t trivial in the least bit.
Admittedly, I have used Uber before and probably will, but the “disrupt everything” startup mentality that ride-sharing was born from cannot and will not stomp on laws put in place by the people. Uber and Lyft have the the technical know how, the money and the energy; why not rally the people to overhaul the industry properly and sensibly instead of showing up to city council meetings yelling about how hip and cool Uber is and how stinky and mean taxi cab drivers are.
I have used the Cab app but I still totally agree about the customer service issue. I grabbed a cab last night from the airport to take me to the Quarry- like 5 minutes away! When we told the driver where we were going he was obviously disappointed that he wasn’t going to make much money and was rude the rest of the way. He struggled to understand where we were saying we needed to go and then on our way decided to take a longer route rather than the straight forward quicker route until we corrected him. When we got to our destination, he let the meter run a little longer than he should have but we were just ready to be home and done with it.
My experiences with uber over the weekend in NYC were the exact opposite. The drivers were friendly and helpful as well as the added benefits of the apps and cashless transactions. One driver even had free bottles of water and mints in the backseat for her riders!
I also don’t understand how a city with a drunk driving problem like ours doesn’t want to get behind more options to help reduce the problem.