5alive

Interesting article on how airports are adapting to Uber and Lyft.

I use both of these services but I am not stuck on them like some folks are.

When we landed at Nashville last month, we noticed quite a long line of people waiting for an Uber. They were in their assigned section of a parking lot, but it looked chaotic. We decided not to order one, walked back, asked the price for a taxi and left right then. I pricechecked the cost of an Uber on my app. The taxi cost $4 more. Not a big deal in my book, and way easier.

https://www.wired.com/story/uber-lyft-ride-hail-airport-traffic-cities/

LT

Call me a hardened cynic, but I think a lot of this has to do less with convenience and more to with entrenched cab companies scared to death that their mediocre to just plain God-awful cabs are now threatened by some real competition. Flew in/out of LGA 2 weeks ago, and had to schlep my bags across the terminal to a parking garage, where you could meet your Uber. I arrived/departed mid-day during the week, and it wasn't "clogged" with other rideshare vehicles. I can only surmise that if given an equivalent choice between a dirty, smelly cab picking you up at the curb or a nice, clean rideshare picking you up at the curb, most people would choose the latter, and thus, the cab companies have to flex their political muscle to stem the hemorrhage.

MoBro

I think you might be right, LT.
Cabs in Denver had gotten so filthy and unkempt, with rude drivers, I was happy to see Uber come onto the scene a few years ago.
Uber costs literally half of what we paid a cab to get to the airport from home.
For pick-up at DEN, now, it's just a matter of going to the Arrival level, not Departure.

marvelousmouse

I agree. I’m leery of Uber, but I’ve never been very sympathetic of the cab companies who are whining about it. The price is not so much an issue for me, but the rampant cheating/lying, rudeness, gross cabs/drivers...competition is something they’ve had coming for a long time.


Denver sounds like Seattle. Making a note to not use cabs there. Although even Seattle cannot surpass Baltimore. It’s like a race to the bottom, nearly every time I get in a cab in the US.

mlgb

I used "Shared" Lyft for the first time at LAX when I arrived from a long flight and my cash had gone missing. I had previously uploaded the Lyft ap with some kind of first user credit on my cellphone. The fare was the same as a shared Supershuttle and I was the only rider. The designated rideshare pickup spot is at the curbside, just like the taxis.

Handy having your credit card already in the system. Lyft has a better rep at LAX than Uber.

I also used Uber in Lisbon during a transit strike, worked out great.

I really hate using the local Yellow Cab here, the guys love to take you on roundabout routes if you don't give them specific instructions.