Can anyone reliably hail a car in California these days? We certainly can’t in the outskirts of Silicon Valley, and I’ve heard similar stories from people in downtown SF.
I wish there was a company that just paid the drivers a fair wage and healthcare, made them pass a basic driving test, and then docked their pay for ghosting customers.
(Yes, I’d pay more than I will for the current disaster.)
Edit: Also, I think at least half the problem is their pricing algorithm. We live in an area that is probably unprofitable vs. other spots. It wouldn’t surprise me if “other disadvantaged” communities are in the same boat.
It is incredibly expensive to avoid living inside traffic light ghettos that use malicious timings to add 10-20 minutes to get to the freeway.
So, if you are in a poor area, uber/lyft should charge you 2-3x more per mile than rich areas, or else the drivers have an economic incentive to avoid your neighborhood.
Knowing California politics, the politicians that set up the malicious light timings would then skewer the ride hailing companies for overcharging poor [minority] people.
