People who live in the large, medium or even in small cities or towns would have experienced a ride in the Taxi and also in the Uber. In this era, taxis, Uber and other raid hauling services are greatly preferred when compared to the previous decades.
People enjoy riding in such services, but fail to understand the raid hauling companies will cost differently depends on the city. But the question is which the customer’s choice is, Uber or Taxi?
Typical Fares
Both the traditional taxis and the Uber costs depend upon the distance and time. Both charges additional fares for the tolls. Taxi costs differ depending on the speed, traffic and how many times the vehicle stops in between the starting and the destination, Whereas, Uber does not cost separate fares for the speed, traffic and other conditions. Uber may have the increased rates at the time of high demand. But, the traditional taxi costs, high fares at the times of peak hours.
To differentiate the fares between the taxi and the Uber, consider the following example.
For a 5 mile journey, this takes 10 minutes to travel and the Uber travels at the rate of 25 miles per hour throughout the journey. UberX will cost the base fare of $2.55 plus the cost for 10 minutes is $3.50 plus the mileage cost of $10.75. And the total fare will be $16.80.
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In the taxi, for the same trip, it costs the base fare of $2.50 plus $12.50 for the 25 units, which costs $0.50 for each unit, plus the customer tip to the driver $3.This gives a total of $18. In this example, Uber is cheaper that the Taxi. But in other situations it may differ depends upon the traffic and other factors. A researcher tells that, if the traffic is low, then the taxis will cost less than the Uber. Uber is cheaper when there is a low demand rate.
Surge Pricing
Uber has the concept called surge pricing. Surge pricing is nothing but, charging high fares in case of high demand. This surge pricing can occur during the peak hours, natural disasters or at the weekends, in these situations there will definitely be high demand, because of the low supply or the increased number of customers. Uber adopted the surge pricing, in order to encourage the drivers and to have the best benefit for them.
The pricing will become normal, when the demand and supply are equal. When the customers book a ride through the app at the time of surge pricing, it will be notified to them. In the case of taxis, they don’t have the surge pricing, but the customers have to wait for a long time, if it was the peak hours, or if the demand exceeds the supply. And taxis add a surcharge of $0.50 if it has less demand, that is between 8p.m to 6a.m, and adds a surcharge of $1, at the peak hours, that is between 4p.m to 8p.m in Monday to Friday.
At the time of surge pricing, it is better to take a cab, if it is available. At the time of surge pricing, the costs may be double than the usual. And the customers have to pay about $39 per mile, this is very expensive. The bill is passed in order to reduce the costs during the surge pricing, and also fares should be made equal to the normal times.
Fare Estimates
It is difficult to estimate the fares at the unfamiliar cities; we don’t have the idea about the fares and the routes. We don’t know whether they are coasting high or low, we are not sure about the route, whether it is the short or long route. In New York, the drivers cannot give the cost estimations in advance, because they cannot predict the traffic conditions and other factors in advance. At the end of the destination, they will collect the fares depending upon the meter.
In the case of Uber, while booking the ride it will give the cost estimates, but that is not the final cost, the cost may vary depending upon the traffic, construction and many other factors.
Payment
In order to book a ride in Uber, users should download the uber app, before booking the ride, for making payments you should register with the credit card, Google Wallet or PayPal account. Uber automatically charges from your registered account at the end of the ride.
For having a ride in a cab you should have your wallet, for making payments, this is not an online mode of making payments. Whereas, the NYC drivers accept the MasterCard, Visa, American express cards, discover and debit cards for making the payments. The customers pay their fares by swiping their cards in the card reader, and they can see the transaction details soon, the message will notify the transaction details, so that we may be sure that our transaction is not misused. Cab drivers accept the cash also.
Giving tips differ from making payments. Uber doesn’t allow tipping in the electronic mode. But it will allow tipping in cash, Uber will accept the tip in rare situations. In Uber Taxi service, the 20% of the metered fee is automatically added as the tips to the driver. Whereas tipping is the kind of essential thing for cabs, you can give the tips with the credit card or you can give it as cash. If it was the bad ride, you tend to reduce your tips, or you don’t give the tips.
Vehicle Model
Taxis carry 4 to 5 passengers depending on the vehicle model. The common model in taxi is Ford Crown Victoria. In 2013 Nissan NV200 became the official model for the taxis. All the taxis are painted with the same color. If you want to have a raid in a fancy car, then you have to prefer Uber or other raid hailing services. Uber’s policy is that, all the cars should be 2008 or the latest models.
Safety
The limitation with the taxi is that, there will be a misunderstanding between the passenger and the driver. Uber has reduced this risk, because both the passengers and the drivers will have the profiles, so, each other can check the profiles of the other before starting the ride.
There are many rules for the people who wish to become an Uber driver, to be a UberX driver, the person should have at least 21 years and should have the valid license, the person should not have even three minor criminal cases, should not have more than three the demerit points and any alcohol or drug cases or any police cases will not be accepted.
The vehicles which are used for picking up the customers also have many rules.
They should have at least four doors, should not be more then 9 years, the vehicle should have the valid registration and it should not have the commercial branding.
Customer Service
As the Uber raid is booked through the app, the customer need not wait for the car, they know the time at which the Uber car arrives, and they can wait inside the home, office or in other places. Whereas for the taxi the passenger has to wait outside for the longest time.
If you want to file a complaint against the bad ride, and then get the four digit unique medallion number from the driver or note the number from the number plate, then file the complaint in online. Customers have the many options to express their opinion about the raids.
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