Ethical / humane rideshare best practices, 2023 (USA) edition?

April 11, 2023 2:27 PM

I've been traveling a lot for work lately, and it got me thinking about rideshare apps and cabs, and how to use my dollars in a way that is most beneficial to the driver / contributes the least amount of harm to the world generally.

I'm partial to Lyft over Uber, but that is a vestige of Travis's behavior in whatever year that was. He's now long gone, and maybe it's not fair for me to keep punishing them? Any insights into which app treats their drivers better? Anything else that's come to light post-covid?

Also, in New York City, I use yellow cabs rather than apps because it seems like they generally know the city better, don't have surge pricing, and have set prices for airport runs. I also read an article (now years ago) about the negative impact on rideshare apps on cab drivers (or was it cab company operators?) who have to pay a lot for their medallions, but wonder if I am inadvertently contributing to a sick or corrupt system?

I realize a lot of this might be "it depends" or "it's all bad, in different ways" but was interested to hear from fellow travelers.

posted by Sweetie Darling to Travel & Transportation (8 answers total)

As a business traveler I try to balance helping support drivers (especially experienced cabbies), the best service, and ease of use. Expense isn’t so high on the list since I’m reimbursed. In NYC (including LGA) I take yellow cabs. In big cities with cabs I try to take them, especially from the airport. I continue to defend cabbies in Chicago at ORD but it’s getting harder the more often they complain. Last week a cab at ORD dumped me at the next terminal because they refused to take Curb payment. I always use curb or arro to pay in a cab because I can jump out when I arrive and am automatically emailed the receipt (convenience wins).

If I’m on my own dime in Chicago it depends where I’m going. If I’m in an area with a lot of cabs I usually call a cab via Curb after trying and failing to flag one down. I take uber sometimes from my house, since there’s no cabs near my neighborhood and it takes 15-20 minutes once I call one.

In smaller cities I take uber a lot, because there are no cabs. I still default to a cab at airports when they have them. I travel for business abroad and take black cabs in London when I can flag one down. In other countries I’ve used uber because it was very convenient and there was no easy way to get a cab. I use Uber vs Lyft out of habit. When Uber was revealed as awful it seemed apparent Lyft wasn’t that different so I stuck with what I was used to. I’d love to hear if there’s an up to date take on this too.
posted by Bunglegirl at 3:20 PM on April 11, 2023

I always use a cab when feasible and convenient, but that's not always the case. If I'm using a rideshare app, I always tip somewhat more because I know the app overlords have been turning the screws on their drivers and I appreciate the struggle in addition to the service.

So if a ride is $10-$20, I will tip $5-$10. If it is $20-40, $10-$20 and so on. And I try to always do this in cash. Uber and Lyft drivers REALLY appreciate keeping their shitty app overseers out of the equation. If it isn't cash, how much do they actually get?

I miss the days of Saudi regime underwritten Uber rides, but as I get older, I'm realizing what things cost.
posted by fatedblue at 5:16 PM on April 11, 2023

Many cities will use curb for calling regular old cabs. I assume there's a cut taken, but it must be less than ubers and easier hailing.

I think if you take uber/lyft - tip more, if you aren't wearing masks regularly, wear one if the drivers wear one etc
posted by sandmanwv at 6:29 PM on April 11, 2023

Tip big, and tip in cash. I think that's the best you can do.
posted by decathecting at 8:25 AM on April 12, 2023

Walk, take the bus and use bike share if you want to be ethical in your personal practices. If those are impossible (no bus line) then tip big.

But if you want to make an impact on this stuff I think this is about pushing for policy change at a higher level than your personal consumer choice. In Europe there are policy proposals to reign in the destructive and extractive power of these corporations. You could support similar efforts in the US although they are fractured. You would have to look into who is working on this in your region. Most of this work is happening within union and worker center spaces. Some leads: Rideshare Drivers United, Justice for App Workers, relevant research.
posted by latkes at 9:02 AM on April 12, 2023

My personal calculus goes something like "bus where possible, if not then aim for taxi, if not available in that area then Lyft, and tip well, ideally in cash." Exception being if I have to get a pet to the vet. Uber lives on my phone specifically and only because of Uber Pet; my cats do not need be stuck in their carriers in the snow/rain because a Lyft driver cancelled on finding out there would be a pet. Uber driver also gets tipped well and ideally in cash, obviously. If Lyft ever gave me an easy and reliable way to ensure a driver who would be okay with a cat, I'd drop Uber entirely.

Like you, though, I don't actually know if these days there's a meaningful difference from a driver preference/safety/finances/whatever standpoint between the two. I'm running on old data until I see updated information.
posted by Stacey at 9:17 AM on April 12, 2023

I travel to the Bay Area for work, and hate using rideshare. I've started renting a car, which is a different problem, but which suits my work requirements and gets me out of the rideshare loop altogether.

If I didn't have to occasionally lug objects around for work I would stick with BART and bus - the Clipper card works for all of it.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 9:53 AM on April 12, 2023

If I remember correctly, Uber did some sort of deal so you can hail an actual taxi through the app. There are also apps such as Curb and Arro specifically designed for hailing and paying taxis in NYC, if that's your preference.

I'd be interested to learn what the taxi business is like in NYC these days. One thing I do know is that medallions are worth a fraction of what they were a decade ago. This has been very bad for individual owners who purchased (and perhaps financed) their medallions back when they were worth around $1MM apiece as opposed to the current value of around $80k. I think DiBlasio orchestrated some kind of relief program. It may be worth noting, however, that the majority of medallions are owned by corporations that maintain fleets of cars.
posted by slkinsey at 10:04 AM on April 12, 2023 [1 favorite]