BART stalls, Uber steps in

BART break downs are not uncommon so when I heard it on the news this morning, I glanced at the video of ticked off passengers and didn't think to much of it. What caught my interest was an interview with a stranded passenger who mentioned Uber.

Apparently Uber caught on quickly that BART stopped traffic into San Francisco and went into "surge pricing" mode. The UBer cars started showing up in mass. The price quoted to get a ride to work: $90.

I had this weird vision of Uber sharks circling the sinking train.

I am getting old. I keep forgetting the there is a new smart phone solution to everything. I am just used to waiting for the bus bridge. $90 to cross the bay bridge seems steep but I guess if you have to be at work, you pay whatever.

I would just wait and take some local buses. I'm not a big fan of Uber.

BART Stalls. UBER Surges. AMTRAK shrugs.

If BART is down, then the Bay Bridge must be a parking lot. Uber wouldn't do you much good, would it? Come to think of it, a regular bus wouldn't be any better. It seems to me that the best thing to do would be to make your way to Oakland and take a ferry into the city.

The whole BART system needs to be rebuilt/replaced at its core sections. The bond measure for doing that passed in November but it is going to be a while before everything is up and running normally. Like many things up in the Bay Area, no one took SOGR money into consideration when budgeting.

I've read that the Uber app tracks your location after you are dropped off. When I looked that the permissions required for the Lyft app I said, "No way!". People don't think about the information they give up with they install apps.

Yep. These days Big Brother (1984) is always watching.

Don Newcomb said:

I've read that the Uber app tracks your location after you are dropped off. When I looked that the permissions required for the Lyft app I said, "No way!". People don't think about the information they give up with they install apps.

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I leave off Location at all times except when absolutely needed. So, in Google maps, Gas Buddy, TripAdvisor, etc, I put my location in manually.

If I have to use Location for any reason, off it goes as soon as I am finished with it.

Same with all the other Android "features". Disable apps when not needed. Turn them off when finished. Clear data and cache often.

This is all very interesting, but what does it have to do with Amtrak? Shouldn't it be in rail transit or "other" transportation.

MikefromCrete said:

This is all very interesting, but what does it have to do with Amtrak? Shouldn't it be in rail transit or "other" transportation.

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What's wrong with you??? You can't see the connection??? Geez!! Fortunately for you, Captain Obvious (me) is here to help! By that I mean, it is quite obvious that Amtrak starts with a capital "A" and BART has a capital "A" as the second letter while the first letter is the second letter of the alphabet. If that doesn't help you out, I don't know what will.

You're welcome!

PS: Get it together, man!

ROTFL!

And coming to think of it Amtrak *shudder* tracks the location of its trains too Juuuust kidding of course

Moved topic over to commuter/subway - not sure if it's the ideal spot but more appropriate than Amtrak rail.

texline said:

The price quoted to get a ride to work: $90.

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I use Uber frequently and have used them since May of 2015. They charge by the mile or minute if waiting for you..

I'm not familiar with them setting a set price to take you to work.

Maybe you got some bad info from an employee of a cab company, no friend of Uber, and always anxious to bad mouth Uber.

texline said:

The price quoted to get a ride to work: $90.

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Checked the Uber website for San Francisco. There was one mention of the Bart being down, and a temporary surge pricing of 2.5x.

Nothing about any $90 Uber charges.

I guess if you typically pay $36 for an Uber ride, the 2.5x surge pricing would be $90.

Here in MSP Uber quotes an exact price for the ride now. I tend to like it as it adds some certainty to the ride. Even before then Uber typically has always given an estimate if the destination is entered. I'm not surprised of a $90 estimate across a congested Bay Bridge.

Uber are total sharks in case of high demand. During Mardi Gras in NOLA they would demand 5x the normal price with a minimum of 50 $ for any ride.

So what they usually quote you will very quickly go away in case of extraordinary demand. You still get a quote - it will just be much, much higher.