> I've noticed this. I can reliably count on Uber/Lyft to price gouge me whenever they get the chance.
Yeah but come on though, the cut the driver has to take, the cost of car maintenance, the cut Uber is entitled to for giving you a reliable service of connecting you to a driver (and co-pool-riders) and making this process smooth -- compare all of that with what a taxi used to cost, it's still pretty cheap in my opinion. Well, at least in the center city where I am (5 dollars yesterday for a ~5 mile ride, not bad).
Why do you assume that cost isn't being subsidized? Uber and Lyft are both still hemorrhaging money. I'm willing to bet the real cost is at least twice what you mentioned.
Yesterday it cost me $30 to go 5 miles via Uber, and I chose that over Lyft's $40. Not a busy time of day so no price surging. This is in San Francisco for a frame of reference.
I've noticed significantly higher prices starting about ~6 months back to the point that is has actually driven me to go fewer places. It being rainy season in San Francisco has also pushed prices up to $40 or more for a ~3 mile drive some evenings. I actually canceled plans when an Uber Pool was $36 and Lyft even more than that just a few days ago. It's just not worth paying $70+ round trip to grab a drink. I'm willing to bet drivers will see some loss in revenue as a result of higher prices but that's just my opinion.
I own a car so it's not an issue of cost but convenience. Driving downtown is just not worth it (a broken window will ruin your weekend). I bought a car for leaving the city, not for going into the city.
I'd imagine renting the car is cheaper before you take into account parking, time, and potential theft. Car break-ins here are so bad people have become blasé about it. I went looking for a news story (there are many about how problematic property crimes are in SF) but found this instead:
(Sorry, I'd deleted the sentence you quoted right as you replied).
I don't mind them raising prices as is needed.
I'm complaining specifically about price gouging. For example, it cost me $8 to travel from my house to a bar the other night, to meet up with some friends. Then it started drizzling, and I had to pay $40 for the ride home.
I get that they're taking advantage of temporary increased demand, but it's not a good customer experience, and next time I'll arrange another way to travel.
It seems to vary a lot. I was on a business trip to San Diego recently and airport inbound (taxi) and airport outbound (Lyft) were about the same price, albeit with the taxi ride a little shorter. OTOH, whenever I visit Raleigh, Lyft still seems about half the price of a cab.
They’re about 2.5x to 3x what they were when I first started using Lyft, and even shared rides are pricey enough and take long enough that they have no edge over government transportation in most circumstances and I’ll generally call a private cab if I’m calling a cab at all.
These days I prefer to get myself around without either, but if circumstances prevent or make that option look unattractive, I’ll generally favor government transportation over Lyft or Uber and only call a cab from one of them if I’m in a hurry.
