Sarastro

While I ride the bus often, if I must be somewhere at a specific time, I take the métro - first choice, taxi - second choice.

Uber has (1) surge pricing and (2) their drivers do not have access to the express lanes used by taxis and buses. Paris traffic can be horrific at times and both buses and uber can be painfully slow.

Bus service can be very unreliable; sometimes it is because routes become unavailable due to demonstrations, sometimes buses become slowed for reasons never obvious. I have seen up to three buses on the same route traveling together. That means that those who just miss the caravan will need wait three times longer for the following bus than is normally scheduled.

Rescheduling the buses couldn´t hurt. Hopefully the STIF and RATP can inject better operational efficiency than what they currently have.

Nikki

"I don't know if Uber can beat that."

That depends on how much the city of Paris pays to subsidize the rides. Boston has had a service similar to the one you describe for quite some time.

According to the article I linked above, the Boston agency will pay up to $13 to subsidize each Uber or Lyft trip under the program and the rider will pay $2. In 2015, the agency paid $45 per ride by using its own service. Up till now the cost to the rider has been $3.15.

So the new program is designed to cut costs for the city and for the riders. Whether it will cut complaints about the system remains to be seen.

fuzzbucket

There is a program on French TV this Wednesday that will expose all the evils of Uberization.

Do you know that Uber drivers don't even make minimum wage?
Do you know that Uber drivers are "encouraged" to work above and beyond the 35-hour work week?

There are lots of inconveniences to using Uber - they cannot pick up and drop off at the airports and train stations, can't use designated taxi/bus lanes, can't pick up passengers on the street, surge pricing is frequent...

All the "service" is geared to the customer, but Uber apparently treats its employees like dirt.
I'd expect some civil uprising from them pretty soon.

Ackislander

Uber lost $2 billion in 2015.

Uber lost $1.2 in the first six months of 2015.

Uber has conceded China and pulled out.

Right now, they are focusing on optimistic tech press releases. They don't publicize the law suits, local bans, criminal drivers, tip theft, and so forth.

Uber may be the future, but they have a lot of problems to solve in the meantime.

Envierges

Is this so too? A taxi driver here told me that Paris regular cab drivers do not have rider's phone numbers. Calls to customers are made from "central" let's call it. He told me that because Uber drivers do have phone numbers, trouble has resulted because of that.

fuzzbucket

Yes, there have been problems with Uber drivers keeping customers' contact information.

Parisien taxi drivers do not have access to anything other than the customers' last name and address. Dispatch deletes the phone number and credit card info (if used) immediately after the transaction has been completed.

PalenQ

Why should cab drivers in any place have a monopoly cartel - why can't it be open to competition like any service? As long as that service meets certain legitimate concerns - like a safe car - driver with a good record, etc.

Why should taxi drivers be immune from competition, the thing behind the Uber attack one would think.

by most experiences I've heard of - not in Paris - but here Uber beats taxis in response times and there is no tipping.

kerouac

What are you calling a monopoly, PQ? There are at least 20 different taxi companies in Paris, and 50% of the taxis are completely independent. Yes, the rates are set by the authorities, but that is pretty much a good thing for the consumers. We also have a bus and subway system that people can use to get around, so there is really quite a bit of competition.

kerouac

I should mention that there is also the option of the non-polluting electric Autolib car sharing service with more than 4000 cars and more than 1000 stations in Paris and 80 suburban communities. It costs 0.30€ per minute for casual users and 0.20€ for subscribers.

PatrickLondon

>>Why should taxi drivers be immune from competition, the thing behind the Uber attack one would think.<<

Fair and level competition, maybe. But a lot of the argument is that, depending on circumstances and local regulatory requirements, it might not be.