Why You Should Take Taxicabs Rather Than Ride-Sharing Services

As the popularity of ride-sharing companies grew, so did the controversy surrounding them. At first, these companies seemed to offer an inexpensive and tech-friendly alternative to more traditional forms of rides for hire. And as with anything shiny and new, people at first raved about these services, but as time has passed, it has become obvious that these ride-sharing companies may have some serious problems and that hiring a professional taxicab is actually the better alternative.

Pricing

It's called surge pricing by the ride-sharing companies, and it can significantly and negatively impact your wallet. So what is surge pricing? Say, you need a ride on a Saturday night downtown and there is an event going on, your ride-sharing service could charge you whatever it believes the going rate should be. So, for example:

• Jessica Seinfeld, the wife of comedian Jerry, once reported that she got slammed with a $415 fare for a short ride during a snowstorm. The price was eight times the regular going fare.
• Customers in Sydney, Australia who were seeking rides during the December 2014 terrorist hostage complained that they were getting quoted fares by a ride-sharing service that were four times the regular rate.

Similar price surges happen frequently in other cities, as well. While riders are advised of these prices before they accept the rides, Slate recently published an article that asked whether this type of price gouging takes advantage of drunk people since many of these surges occur on popular drinking holidays. According to Slate, these customers may be too drunk to realize the amount of money they are being asked to pay or are desperate to get home but don't want to drive while drunk. On the other hand, professional taxicabs are not allowed to price gouge in this manner.

Banned in Some Cities

In a growing number of areas and cities -- including Las Vegas, Virginia and Portland and Delhi, India -- these ride-sharing companies have been banned from operating their services. In Virginia, the Department of Motor Vehicles sent cease-and-desist orders to the services and that individual drivers, if caught, could be fined $1,000 per violation. But at least one of the companies emailed its customers to tell them that they were still going to operate. So customers and drivers should wonder what that means if:

• A ride-sharing car they are riding in is involved in an accident. Will they still be covered by the company's insurance policy?
• A fine is issued, will the ride-sharing company pay for it or will the driver be out of pocket?

Safety

In recent months, a number of ride-sharing drivers have been accused of raping, robbing and assaulting their customers. Although the ride-sharing companies claim that they put their drivers through background checks, some question how stringent those checks actually are. In fact, the district attorneys of both Los Angeles and San Francisco recently accused three of the ride-sharing companies of misleading customers about the safety of their services and the thoroughness of their background checks.

When in Doubt, Taxi It

Taxi drivers for professional companies go through background checks and many -- in San Francisco, for example -- must also be fingerprinted. Professional taxicabs must also undergo state inspections and pay for special commercial insurance. The following are reasons why you should take a professional taxicab rather than a ride-sharing peer-to-peer service:

• You are drunk. Many of the ride-sharing attacks have been committed on drunk female customers riding alone.
• You are alone in an unfamiliar city. If a predator driver were to take you in a different direction than your intended destination, you would have no idea.
• You are uncomfortable getting into a vehicle with a stranger. Ride-sharing companies consider themselves peer-to-peer services, which is how they get around licensing and regulation requirements that professional taxicab companies must comply with. So the basic premise is that they are matching people in need of a ride with a fellow civilian with a car.

A growing number of cities and areas throughout the world are beginning to ban ride-sharing services due to safety concerns. If you have similar concerns, your best bet is to hire a professional taxi service for your next ride.

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