Would it be safe for me to use ride-sharing?

[TheParser]

1. Here in Los Angeles, some cabbies will not let old people use their senior discount cards.

2. The cabbies find that some of those old people do not give them a tip.

3. This old man (82) is thinking of trying out that newfangled system called ride sharing.

a. I do not have a smartphone, but I have found a service that lets me use my dumbphone to request a ride-sharing driver.

4. The Los Angeles police department says that last year there were hundreds and hundreds of complaints from both ride-sharing drivers and passengers about misconduct.

5. Some drivers have been abused by passengers, and many passengers have been abused by drivers.

a. Most of the abused passengers have been young ladies, especially those who have been drunk.

6. It seems that almost anyone can become a ride-sharing driver. The background check, they say, is a joke.

7. Since I am an ugly old man, I guess that I would be reasonably safe.

a. But I am still scared to try it out.

 

[ecofarm]

 

[Praxas]

1. Here in Los Angeles, some cabbies will not let old people use their senior discount cards.

2. The cabbies find that some of those old people do not give them a tip.

3. This old man (82) is thinking of trying out that newfangled system called ride sharing.

a. I do not have a smartphone, but I have found a service that lets me use my dumbphone to request a ride-sharing driver.

4. The Los Angeles police department says that last year there were hundreds and hundreds of complaints from both ride-sharing drivers and passengers about misconduct.

5. Some drivers have been abused by passengers, and many passengers have been abused by drivers.

a. Most of the abused passengers have been young ladies, especially those who have been drunk.

6. It seems that almost anyone can become a ride-sharing driver. The background check, they say, is a joke.

7. Since I an old ugly man, I guess that I would be reasonably safe.

a. But I am still scared to try it out.

If you do decide ride sharing, I would make sure to request a pick-up and drop-off point not at your house. Could be used to scope out your residence for when you aren't there and if they don't have a great vetting tool for their drivers (not that Uber, Lyft, or any others have great vetting), you never know a drivers intentions. Also avoid any conversation about wealth or "what you do" in your spare time outside the house.

 

[danielpalos]

It should be, but we have right wing morality to contend with.

Public transportation for free could enable local brick and mortar shops to stay profitable more consistently.

 

[Drawdown]

1. Here in Los Angeles, some cabbies will not let old people use their senior discount cards.

2. The cabbies find that some of those old people do not give them a tip.

3. This old man (82) is thinking of trying out that newfangled system called ride sharing.

a. I do not have a smartphone, but I have found a service that lets me use my dumbphone to request a ride-sharing driver.

4. The Los Angeles police department says that last year there were hundreds and hundreds of complaints from both ride-sharing drivers and passengers about misconduct.

5. Some drivers have been abused by passengers, and many passengers have been abused by drivers.

a. Most of the abused passengers have been young ladies, especially those who have been drunk.

6. It seems that almost anyone can become a ride-sharing driver. The background check, they say, is a joke.

7. Since I am an ugly old man, I guess that I would be reasonably safe.

a. But I am still scared to try it out.

Look for other options through senior services. Our bus system does a door to door short bus reserve a ride thing based on availability to help seniors get to the doctor or grocery.

 

[TheParser]

Public transportation for free could enable local brick and mortar shops to stay profitable more consistently.

Yes, free and dependable public transportation would be great.

It would not necessarily stop the presence of violent bad actors that deter some people from using public transportation, but that's another topic.

Here in Los Angeles, the subway does not connect downtown to the airport (one of the busiest in the world). And there are no plans to do so. Can you imagine what foreign visitors arriving in 2028 for the Olympics will think? Absolutely shameful! (They say that "certain" vested interests have contributed to local pols' campaign funds to make sure that there is no subway connection. I do not know whether "they" are correct, but it would not surprise me.)


Have a nice day!

 

[danielpalos]

Yes, free and dependable public transportation would be great.

It would not necessarily stop the presence of violent bad actors that deter some people from using public transportation, but that's another topic.

Here in Los Angeles, the subway does not connect downtown to the airport (one of the busiest in the world). And there are no plans to do so. Can you imagine what foreign visitors arriving in 2028 for the Olympics will think? Absolutely shameful! (They say that "certain" vested interests have contributed to local pols' campaign funds to make sure that there is no subway connection. I do not know whether "they" are correct, but it would not surprise me.)


Have a nice day!

Why would they not want a subway connection? Traffic congestion could be reduced.

 

[TheParser]

Why would they not want a subway connection? Traffic congestion could be reduced.

Exactly.

Some suspicious people charge that the taxi companies are responsible for influencing the decision of the big boys and girls at City Hall. I do not know whether that is true or not.

The situation is absolutely absurd. The city IS building a rail link (on the streets, not a subway) that goes ALMOST to the airport. You will have to get off and take some kind of transportation for the remaining mile to the airport. I kid you not. Do you see why so many people are absolutely disgusted with their local, state, and federal government? Those elected officials claim to be public "servants." Yeah, right!

I won't bore you further, but get this: Ridership on trains and the subway is actually going DOWN. The big boys and girls say they don't understand -- as they drive by in their chauffeured cars paid for by the taxpayers!

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Here in Los Angeles, the subway does not connect downtown to the airport (one of the busiest in the world). And there are no plans to do so.

What on EARTH are you talking about?

Aviation/LAX Station

ARRIVING

DEPARTING

And in about five years the connections to ALL of Metro will be complete, just as it is in NYC.
But right now it is already possible to take Metro to LAX, you just have to take the free shuttle to get directly INTO the airport and that's actually better from a congestion point of view.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Exactly.

Some suspicious people charge that the taxi companies are responsible for influencing the decision of the big boys and girls at City Hall. I do not know whether that is true or not.

The situation is absolutely absurd. The city IS building a rail link (on the streets, not a subway) that goes ALMOST to the airport. You will have to get off and take some kind of transportation for the remaining mile to the airport. I kid you not. Do you see why so many people are absolutely disgusted with their local, state, and federal government? Those elected officials claim to be public "servants." Yeah, right!

I won't bore you further, but get this: Ridership on trains and the subway is actually going DOWN. The big boys and girls say they don't understand -- as they drive by in their chauffeured cars paid for by the taxpayers!

The reason for the remaining mile shuttle to the airport is twofold:

1. It would cost upward of eight billion to totally revamp LAX to full Metro direct access, i.e. a subway station INSIDE LAX.

2. It would cause congestion several times that of today. The shuttles work. That's why even the rideshare outfits must now interface with the shuttles.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Y
Here in Los Angeles, the subway does not connect downtown to the airport (one of the busiest in the world). And there are no plans to do so.

My brother and I just used the airport/Metro interface at JFK Airport two months ago and it worked just fine.
You use the JFK shuttle train to get in or OUT of the airport, then connect to the subway.
It worked just fine.

 

[ModerationNow!]

To answer your question in a sarcastic, humorous, but somewhat accurate way, here's a short video on Uber's "stringent" standards for new drivers....

 

[TheParser]

To answer your question in a sarcastic, humorous, but somewhat accurate way, here's a short video on Uber's "stringent" standards for new drivers.... ��

Thanks a million for the link.

I have decided to try ride sharing only as a last resort.

I have read the horror stories about both criminal drivers and criminal passengers. Shame on the share-riding companies for having such lax background checks.

If all human beings were good, ride sharing would be a no-brainer, but …



Have a nice weekend!

 

[ModerationNow!]

Thanks a million for the link.

I have decided to try ride sharing only as a last resort.

I have read the horror stories about both criminal drivers and criminal passengers. Shame on the share-riding companies for having such lax background checks.

If all human beings were good, ride sharing would be a no-brainer, but …



Have a nice weekend!

Honestly, the odds of something bad happening if you hire an über are pretty low. Most drivers are people simply trying to make a living using their personal cars. There may be an occasional scumbag, but that's the exception to the rule.