Freak out over these adorable Lyft & Uber problems & SOLUTIONS you can try

Updated October 31, 2022

It Might Happen To You

13 min readOct 2, 2016

Problems

Solutions

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Don’t want your rent to be too damn high, homes to cost too much to buy or want homes for unhoused people? #DeleteUber #DeleteLyft

When companies go public by selling their shares in the stock market, many of their staff become millionaires and buy homes and increase home prices.

Lyft and their CEO and billionaire Logan Green donated $100,000 to fight a San Francisco proposition to house 4,000 homeless people. Join former SF Supervisor David Campos, Causa Justa, and boycott Lyft.

Join the SF Green Party and boycott Lyft and Uber.

Compared to legal cabs, they cost more

According to Consumer Reports:

For quick trips when fares are below $35, a legal cab can be cheaper.
Even without surge pricing, UberX can be more expensive than taking a cab.
Uber charges a minimum of $8 if you get into the car, compared with $2.50 for New York’s yellow cabs.
UberX is still often more expensive even after you take into account tipping cab drivers.
While Uber provides an estimate of a trip’s cost before you get in the car, the final price might surprise you because of factors such as traffic or weather. Uber charged one woman $640 for a trip to the airport during a snowstorm.

Legal cabs have caps. But illegal cabs like Uber and Lyft:

Don’t have caps on what they charge riders.
Jack up fares (surge pricing).

Also, Uber and Lyft cost more than driving your own car.

Uber admits it charged riders more than what drivers saw. And drivers even cause fake price surges to upcharge riders.

Uber & Lyft limit your freedom for safe streets for all

There’s nothing to stop a driver from driving 24 hours in a row for Uber & Lyft

Some already drive 14 hours in a row and sleep in their cars. Legal cabs don’t let drivers drive more than 12 hours. Lyft doesn’t let drivers drive for six hours after 14 consecutive hours of driving. But Uber has no cap.

75% of violations of safe streets are from Uber & Lyft drivers

They failed to yield to pedestrians, and/or blocked bus or bike lanes.

Uber & Lyft force hundreds of cyclists into traffic per hour in a block

A peer-reviewed study found that most cyclists are courteous and law-abiding. But Uber and Lyft drivers are not, which is unsafe for everyone involved. On just one block, about 50 Uber and Lyft cars illegally stopped in the bike lane, forcing 205 cyclists into traffic in just one hour. Most cars had Uber or Lyft emblems and dropping or picking up passengers. Several police cars and two beat cops were observed passing the illegally parked cars, and none of them took any action.

See what happens when this cyclist nicely asks a Uber driver to move:

Unlike legal cabs, Uber & Lyft have zero liability for their 196 sexual assaults, 37 assaults, 8 kidnaps, and 18 deaths

If something terrible happens in a legal cab, a passenger may get compensation from the company without having to go through a legal nightmare to get it. See this link for the most updated total.

Uber’s background check on drivers is “completely worthless”

Uber and Lyft said that they will not abide by laws for legal cab drivers (like background checks). Hear lawmakers talk about how if you get hurt in an Uber, Uber says it’s not their fault:

Yellow cab drivers generally are required to undergo national or FBI background checks involving fingerprint records that include their complete criminal history, while Uber’s background check database only goes back seven years and shows a limited amount of information, and does not require in-person appearances or fingerprints..

They cancel black people’s rides

According to Alternet, a study showed that African-Americans faced 30 percent longer wait times and were twice as likely to have their ride cancelled as their white counterparts.

Uber & Lyft drivers used slurs, told drivers to avoid queer riders

ThinkProgress reported that:

A Lyft driver told a rider “the Bible forbids gay sex” and said other slurs for about eight minutes and kicked him out — about a half-mile from his destination.
Another Lyft driver posted a Facebook message telling “hetero males” to look out for his passenger, trans activist Monica Jones, divulging her name and location, which potentially put her in danger.
A Uber driver kicked out a gay couple in San Francisco after they shared a kiss.

If you want less traffic, clean air or better public transit, avoid Lyft & Uber

Sierra Club reports:

New research has shown that congestion increased in large cities where Lyft and other ride-hailing services operate.
Ride-hailing has simultaneously reduced transit ridership in nine major U.S. cities.
Uber even admits in its recent IPO filing that it views public transit as a competitor.

Gizmodo reports that:

Uber is clearly trying to replace public transit.
When Uber’s rates go down even more as they saturate a region and enough riders stop taking public transit, bus services get cut.

According to Alternet:

A 2017 study shows that even in New York City, Lyft and Uber ridership is increasing, as subway and bus ridership declines. When ride-hailing services threaten even the best public transit network in the country, you know we have a major problem.
Some public transit agencies are already providing subsidies to ride-hailing companies as a substitute to transit.

Uber & Lyft suck for your health & environment

Vehicles using fossil fuels like gas and diesel cause air pollution which causes three million premature deaths a year, asthma, heart attacks and premature births.

Uber & Lyft added more cars to traffic (e.g. 45k in SF, 35k in NYC)

A study by University of Colorado researchers found Uber and Lyft increased the vehicle miles traveled in Denver by 83%.

Between 2010 and 2016, half of SF’s increase in traffic congestion is due to Uber and Lyft, both of which won’t release data to help the government figure out exactly how much traffic.

Cities allow legal cab companies to have a finite number of cabs on the street so as not to increase traffic. SF permits 1,800 legal cabs. But Uber and Lyft put as many cars on the street as they want. SF drivers grew from 37,000 in 2016 to about 45,000 in 2017.

In NYC, there are 35,000 Uber and Lyft active drivers as of 2016.

Some Uber & Lyft drivers commute 500 miles each way

They commute from as far as eight hours each way to drive for you in SF from as far away as Fresno and San Diego.

50% of Uber & Lyft trips were for riders that would have done things like take public transit, walk, bike

That’s what Dr. Susan Shaheen found in a study in 2014 of a randomized group of 380 ride-hailing customers in San Francisco. 50% of trips included riders that would not have taken illegal cabs like Uber and Lyft.

In NYC since June 2015, demand tripled, to 500,000 per day. That has far outpaced the drop in yellow cab rides. And most trips are still exclusive rides, not the long-envisioned shared trips with passengers traveling on overlapping routes. In 2016, subway ridership fell for the first time in years. Bus ridership dropped for the third consecutive year. Uber, Lyft and the other companies are making up the difference.

Uber drivers don’t pick up carpoolers

They have little incentive to accept UberPool trips, especially when they might make more off single-rider trips during surge pricing. Some drivers admit they turn down 100% of UberPool requests.

Ridesharing is carpooling

Uber and Lyft are illegal cabs under the guise of ride-hailing apps. Uber and Lyft hijacked the term “ridesharing.” They often drive single passengers.

Uber & Lyft don’t require any green vehicles

Some cities require their taxi fleet to use fuel-efficient vehicles, which saves drivers money in gas and reduces pollution. Uber and Lyft don’t.

Lyft opposed law for fuel-efficient, less-polluting cars that would save drivers money

In 2008, San Francisco required taxi companies to get fuel-efficient cars into their fleet. In only two years, the law lowered climate-change causing emissions by 35,000 tons annually and saved drivers money in fuel and maintenance costs. Lyft opposed a California bill in June 2018 that would require Uber and Lyft to reduce their polluting emissions.

The legislation targets ride-hail companies, not the drivers. Uber and Lyft can meet the targets anyway they choose, including offering incentives to drivers or building company-owned electric fleets.
Not wanting to reveal the data could be another reason for Lyft’s opposition. Not only do ride-hail companies have notorious reputations for fighting efforts to obtain data, but it also may be hard to collect given the huge amount of driver turnover. The simplest explanation for Lyft’s opposition is that it’s easier and more profitable to operate without regulations.

Many Uber & Lyft drivers earn $3/hr (less than cabs), all have no healthcare that legal cabs give

Takele Gobena started driving for Uber and Lyft because “their ads led me to believe my pay would be $25/hour. At the airport, I earned $9.47/hour as a dispatcher and had healthcare. With Uber and Lyft, driving 37,000 miles in 2014, after all my expenses (vehicle financing, fueling, insuring and maintaining), I earn $2.64/hour and have no healthcare…I shared my experience…which the press reported. [Then] Uber deactivated [my account].”

Taxi drivers killed themselves because Uber & Lyft destroyed their livelihood

Uber sucks for disabled people

Uber doesn’t provide wheelchair-accessible cars because they don’t have to. Legal cabs do.

If you ride Lyft, you’d support a Trump advisor

If you use Lyft, you are helping Carl Icahn.

Uber & Lyft both plan to have driver-less cars and Uber’s killed a pedestrian while their staff was looking down in the car.

Sign Sierra Club’s petition for Uber & Lyft to get clean vehicles

Quicker, cheaper, safer, more ethical transport

Each section below lists transport from least to most polluting:

Global:

Bike rentals by the hour or day, sometimes you can pick up and drop off in a different city: Bike Sharing World Map.
Compare prices and schedules to get anywhere by plane, public transit, private shuttles/buses/cars or your own car: Rome2Rio.
Real ridesharing: Carma, eRideShare, CarpoolWorld, BlaBlaCar
One way or round trip cars by the minute with free parking (like from your home to the airport): Car2Go.
Cabs that are quicker than Uber (and are legal, licensed, insured): MyTaxi App.
Cabs listed in this 2018 Forbes post.
Any local, licensed cabs.

Asia:

Real ridesharing: GrabHitch.
Indian rideshares and cabs: Ola.
Electric bikes: E-Bikes Bali

Australia:

Hertz On Demand

USA:

Bike rentals (peer-to-peer): Spinlister
Compare real-time schedules and prices of all public transit based on your location: Swiftly app
Carpool for one-time, daily, short- or long-distance trips with Zimride.
Carpool for commutes: Scoop’s algorithm matches you based on route, traffic, past feedback, and more. Get in the carpool lane and save hours every week. They do vehicle history checks on every driver and guarantee your ride home so you’re never stranded.
Peer-to-peer car rentals by the hour: GetAround
Discounts for carsharing rentals by the hour or day: ZipCar and Turo where you can reserve an eco-friendly car (unlike most traditional car rental companies).
Apps for legal, licensed, insured cabs that don’t charge surge pricing (and some must offer some eco-friendly cars): YoTaxi, Flywheel, Curb, Arro
Shared rides with shuttle companies listed on official airport websites. They’re cheaper than Uber and Lyft.

CA Bay Area (some might be available elsewhere soon):

Discounts with real rideshare companies that share data so governments can improve public transportation.
One way or round trip hybrid cars by the minute with free parking (e.g., from your home to the airport): Gig Car Share. Get $85 free if you sign up by April 30, 2017. AAA members get 10% off.
Google Waze Carpool App: Pay no more than $0.54 per mile. Request a ride with only few hours in advance.
Electric one and two-person scooters and quads: Scoot by the hour and pickup and drop-off at different locations.
Hybrid taxis by Alameda Wanna Cab, Green Taxi, Berkeley Green Taxi Cab (driver-owned).

Portland, OR:

Union Cab PDX: eco-friendlier (hybrid) cars, employee-owned

11 Tips to stay safe if you ride with strangers

Get the SafeTrek app ($2.99/month). When you feel unsafe, launch it and press its button until you get to safety. If you release your finger and don’t enter your pin, police will be notified of your location faster than calling 911. One woman also called 911, put 911 on mute, and talked to her Lyft rapist about landmarks she passed so 911 would know where she was.
Do not ride alone if you’re heavily intoxicated.
Always use the dispatch service. Do not call phone numbers of drivers. Also, you can’t hail an Uber or Lyft from the street.
Wait inside a safe building until your ride arrives.
Make sure the driver’s license plate matches the one in your app.
Confirm the driver’s name/picture in the app matches the driver in the car.
See if their business registration certificate is posted in their car. If it’s not, call 311 (non-emergency hotline in the USA and Canada).
Don’t ride up front, no matter what the driver says. Being in the front seat might make you more open to an assault.
Don’t tell the driver where you are staying. If they ask, say you’re just out and about.
If the driver asks, “who knows where you are” or “is someone waiting for you when you get there,” say something like, “I’d love to chat. I can’t right now.”
If the driver asks to see your phone or offers to help you with the app, do not give up your phone.

Where to share your story, get policy support

If you have a bad Uber or Lyft experience, share your story with Who’s Driving You.

Share this post with your federal and state elected officials, and local electeds. And share this tweet and Facebook post and tag your elected officials.

Save lives: report unsafe driving (e.g., cars in bike lanes)

Based on our experience trying all the following, we suggest that you try the following in this order because you’ll get better results.

Take a photo of the car and license plate.
Tweet your city Councilmember, local bike coalition (e.g., San Francisco Bicycle Coalition), and RideShaming.
Report it to the police. They might not do anything if the car is already gone.
If it was your Uber or Lyft driver, send a message to Uber and Lyft and write a bad review.

In the US and Canada:

Dial 311 for non-emergencies. It’s the government hotline for your complaints or questions. Ask them to email your complaint to you so if they don’t address your concern, you have a record.
Dial 911 for emergencies.
Submit a photo to CarsInBikeLanes.
Post it on social media with #CarsInBikeLanes #CyclistsWithCameras

In California:

Take a video or photo and send it to the CA Public Utilities Commission. You can send it even after the car left.
In San Francisco, immediately call 311. Or for faster service, call SF Parking Enforcement at 415–553–1631. If you call them after the car is gone, they can’t do anything.

Form a human chain to protect bike lanes

Follow Uber In A Bike Lane to find out when.

Copy these policies

Taxing Uber and Lyft 15–30% could pay for free San Francisco buses.
Join NYC and halt new vehicle licenses for ride-hail services and set a minimum pay rate for drivers: It would not diminish existing service because there are already 100,000 Uber and Lyft drivers. Many Uber drivers say they support the cap proposal. They hope it will halt the flood of new vehicles clogging city streets and allow them to make more trips and improve their earnings.
Join San Francisco and ask the City Attorney to sue Uber and Lyft. The CA Public Utilities Commission regulates Uber and Lyft. So California cities have currently little power to regulate them, aside from continuing to issue citations. But cities can regulate street design. They aren’t an issue when they are physically prevented from stopping in a bike lane. So the best way to provide safe streets is to request protected bike lanes and protected intersections, and ban private cars from busy downtown streets. If the government won’t help, ask these ninjas around the world to help.
Invite lawmakers to join San Francisco and submit a court order requiring Uber and Lyft to provide information to allow the city to determine if they are a public nuisance, whether Uber charges more in low-income neighborhoods and if they are complying with laws for access by people with disabilities.
According to a Harvard business professor, cities should fine Uber and Lyft for past and present illegal rides. In most cities, the statute of limitations has not run out, so nothing prevents bringing claims on prior violations. If a few cities pursued these claims with moderate success, the resulting judgments could bankrupt Uber and show a generation of entrepreneurs that they must follow the law.
Create a policy so organizations like bike coalitions fighting for clean air and safer streets “prohibit donations from transportation network companies (TNCs)” —illegal taxis like Uber and Lyft — “autonomous vehicle companies, and their subsidiaries.”

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