Uber in Santo Domingo

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
15,051
5,159
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I doubt they will search anyone for guns, so this is just more bluster. Does not matter as this will never get off the ground anyway.
 

Africaida

Gold
Jun 19, 2009
7,774
1,341
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Reading and experiencing is different

the more read about them the more crappy they appear.
they do not allow guns on their rides in DR?, so they will have few customers and ZERO drivers.
and what a sick example to show their ruling against the guns:
a chicago driver, thanks God, shot a sick ba?""$d of a Gunman who was shooting into the public crowd.
of course the Driver been not charged with any crime.
to show such story, to tell the world that they do not allow Guns on their rides, well, i am now Sure that i will never use them. that app will not be installed on my family's phones.

Mike

It is not crappy, it is convenient. It s like taking the plane, unless you take it, no amount of literature will come close to the experience. :)

I don't know how it is going to go in the DR but there is no place they tried where he went well. In France, they still have problems, yet, ALL of my friends use Uber : French Anti-Uber Protest Turns To Guerrilla Warfare As Cabbies Burn Cars, Attack Uber Drivers | TechCrunch
 

greydread

Platinum
Jan 3, 2007
17,477
488
83
It is not crappy, it is convenient. It s like taking the plane, unless you take it, no amount of literature will come close to the experience. :)

I don't know how it is going to go in the DR but there is no place they tried where he went well. In France, they still have problems, yet, ALL of my friends use Uber : French Anti-Uber Protest Turns To Guerrilla Warfare As Cabbies Burn Cars, Attack Uber Drivers | TechCrunch

A Brazilian colleague talked me into trying Uber a few months back. I love it. I don't drive my car into DC because of the parking nazis but once out of Metro, I was at the mercy of the cabs....until Uber. Now a $15 taxi fare is the $5 Uber minimum and the $45 (trying to get home after the last train) fare is $17 door to door and there's no wandering around tryong to hail one. They get your location off the cellular GPS, map the car all the way to you with driver's picture, vehicle description and tag# and estimated arrival.

The whole "Uber bans guns" thing is U.S. only. When they operate in D.R. I'm sure that prevailing customs and courtesies will stand. I think they'll do great in the Capital, not sure about elsewhere though. Their service relies on a broad middle class client base. The poor can't afford the service and the rich don't need it.
 

kapitan75

New member
Jun 3, 2005
331
0
0
back to regulation and requirements by the goverment.

the DR goverment should create 2 tiers of taxi service, the airport street pick up exclusives, (ie: yellow taxi) and a out of city limits (green taxi).

Have a medallion auction, a percentage fleet, and another percentage privately owned for the yellows, with twice yearly inspections and required electronics. these yellows would be the only ones able to pick up at the airport, and metropolitan streets. there is only 3 or 4 models of cars to choose from.

the green cabs would also have an auction for medallion, but less expensive than yellow. green cabs can drop off at airport, but no pick ups allowed. they can drop off in the city, but prohibited from a pick up in a set boundary.

all taxis would be required to have gps and meters, be no more than 4 years old, maybe longer for green.

what this creates is a windfall of revenue for the government, car dealers,inspection stations, and electronics installers. The windfall for passengers is accurate fares, safer vehicles and familiarity with who is who.

safety inspections is critical for the masses. I cant talk enough of how many times I got into a taxi with a slow tire leak, bald tires, bad brakes, and wobbly wheels.

the change would not hurt too bad. you can still have the tourist taxi stands, the union of drivers. except now you can have newly created jobs in the transport sector, and the drivers wouldn't have to worry too much about a bootleg taxi taking their fares by going around the corner.

those bolla cacharas have to go as well. create a damn bus system already. how much longer can dominicans live in such a primitive way, fitting 30 passengers in a micro built for 18 ?

lets keep uber out of the mix for now.
 

greydread

Platinum
Jan 3, 2007
17,477
488
83
back to regulation and requirements by the goverment.

the DR goverment should create 2 tiers of taxi service, the airport street pick up exclusives, (ie: yellow taxi) and a out of city limits (green taxi).

Have a medallion auction, a percentage fleet, and another percentage privately owned for the yellows, with twice yearly inspections and required electronics. these yellows would be the only ones able to pick up at the airport, and metropolitan streets. there is only 3 or 4 models of cars to choose from.

the green cabs would also have an auction for medallion, but less expensive than yellow. green cabs can drop off at airport, but no pick ups allowed. they can drop off in the city, but prohibited from a pick up in a set boundary.

all taxis would be required to have gps and meters, be no more than 4 years old, maybe longer for green.

what this creates is a windfall of revenue for the government, car dealers,inspection stations, and electronics installers. The windfall for passengers is accurate fares, safer vehicles and familiarity with who is who.

safety inspections is critical for the masses. I cant talk enough of how many times I got into a taxi with a slow tire leak, bald tires, bad brakes, and wobbly wheels.

the change would not hurt too bad. you can still have the tourist taxi stands, the union of drivers. except now you can have newly created jobs in the transport sector, and the drivers wouldn't have to worry too much about a bootleg taxi taking their fares by going around the corner.

those bolla cacharas have to go as well. create a damn bus system already. how much longer can dominicans live in such a primitive way, fitting 30 passengers in a micro built for 18 ?

lets keep uber out of the mix for now.

Poor regulation and oversight by the government is exactly what will propel Uber's success. They won't "stay out of the mix". They're in the thread title.
 

greydread

Platinum
Jan 3, 2007
17,477
488
83
Yes, the government is always better at making things go well.

For everyone except Anarchists who adore chaos and have no use for airports and seaports and roads and railways and telecommunications and schools and sanitation and emergency services....traffic signal? We don't need no steenking traffic signals!

The very 1st taxi I ever took in the Dominican Republic was on a ride from SDQ to Santo Domingo. There was a propane tank loosely mounted to the dashboard, there was a crack all the way across the windshield and the windshield wipers were smearing whatever it was that was emanating from the hood so the driver and I took turns wiping each side with a rag until we got to the Intercontinental.

That's not the scary part...during the ride the driver asked me for a cigarette like I wasn't sitting in front of a mumbling tank of propane gas.

Thanks...I'll take my chances with Uber.
 

kapitan75

New member
Jun 3, 2005
331
0
0
My first experience with a taxi was a carro publico, old datsun 4 in the front 6 in the back! Im 6 ft 200lbs,! The girl i was with said i can pay 3 fares and sit in the front, with a rusted through floor!

On another, the driver had to get out in every gas station to fill the tires with air and tighten the lug nuts! An airport taxi!

Maybe this president can develop a remedy?
 

MikeFisher

The Fisherman/Weather Mod
Feb 28, 2006
13,896
2,486
113
Punta Cana/DR
www.mikefisher.fun
For everyone except Anarchists who adore chaos and have no use for airports and seaports and roads and railways and telecommunications and schools and sanitation and emergency services....traffic signal? We don't need no steenking traffic signals!

The very 1st taxi I ever took in the Dominican Republic was on a ride from SDQ to Santo Domingo. There was a propane tank loosely mounted to the dashboard, there was a crack all the way across the windshield and the windshield wipers were smearing whatever it was that was emanating from the hood so the driver and I took turns wiping each side with a rag until we got to the Intercontinental.

That's not the scary part...during the ride the driver asked me for a cigarette like I wasn't sitting in front of a mumbling tank of propane gas.

Thanks...I'll take my chances with Uber.

ahaaaaq.
an otha Militant Anti-Smoker!!!
haha
hey, such scenes/normal happenings like your first cabby ride, been the things that made this country so sympatic, made me move over here.
arriving in Punta Cana Todays, as it is now, i would not stay to make a living here.
much too much "americanized", everywhere fast food places, and then all those Gringos walking around demanding illegal Uber Rides, top shelf liqueurs, airconditions etcetc.
I liked the ole times much more, but nothing to be done against the change of times of course.

Mike
 

RG84

Bronze
May 21, 2010
739
38
28
My question would be how much cheaper could ?ber be compared to the Taxis now?
I can go almost anywhere in SD for 150-200 pesos. I live in Gazcue and can go to Los Frailes and back for 400 pesos. Would a Uber driver charge me 300pesos, would they wait for me knowing, they might not get another fare going back? That's how I get drivers to wait for me now.

I think it's a great idea to be able to see the car and driver before they arrived. Also isn't your first ride free with Uber?
 

RG84

Bronze
May 21, 2010
739
38
28
My question? Where are they going to find enough taxi drivers who own and know how to use a smartphone?

If you are talking about the Uber drivers, they know how to use thier phones, but as you said will there be enough of them wanting to sign up to make it work?
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,262
364
0
My question? Where are they going to find enough taxi drivers who own and know how to use a smartphone?

smartphones are quite popular now. ability to use them is less of an issue, i wonder how many drivers have enough data to use them at all times ;) also it's interesting to see uber wants cars from 2006 or newer.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
It won't be the average taxi driver that will hop in on Uber. They stay with companies like Apolo. It's guys like you and me that will take a chance at earning some extra money is spare time. Myself I drive in the city big part of the day and often have an hour or so in between appointments. I'd sign up as a driver wouldn't it be that my car is from 2005 and the one of 2010 is an SUV which is also not accepted as it seems.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,262
364
0
see an issue there? you are a fairly comfortable middle class padre de familia and you do not qualify to drive uber :cheeky:
 

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
7,375
164
0
It won't be the average taxi driver that will hop in on Uber. They stay with companies like Apolo. It's guys like you and me that will take a chance at earning some extra money is spare time. Myself I drive in the city big part of the day and often have an hour or so in between appointments. I'd sign up as a driver wouldn't it be that my car is from 2005 and the one of 2010 is an SUV which is also not accepted as it seems.

I guess you right on that call because the taxi drivers I use are still in flip phone mode.

I sure would love Uber to hit my favorite city Santo Domingo. No haggling with price, just hop in and hop out. Uber really does not need to be any cheaper than current taxi rates. The convenience of Uber would win me over.
 

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
7,375
164
0
On a side note, those that do use Uber when you rate your driver try to give a 5* rating. A 4* although seems good hurts the driver more than not rating them at all. My understanding the driver needs to maintain a 4.6* rating.