UBER & LYFT causing NYC cabbie suicide epidemic

[samhexum]

A cabbie “took his own life” early Saturday in the backseat of his car parked alongside a Queens cemetery, police said — the ninth for-hire driver to commit suicide in the Big Apple in roughly a year.

 

The man, whose name was not immediately released, ingested or breathed in “some kind of substance” in the backseat of his Hyundai Sonata at Myrtle Avenue and 75th Street on the side of the Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Glendale around 4 a.m., police said.

 

He was pronounced dead on scene.

 

Later in the morning, cops removed the man from the car, head first, and laid him down on his back. His face was covered in white powder from the forehead down, and his right hand was bent upwards from the elbow.

 

He wore a black bubble jacket, grey argyle sweater, jeans, black socks and no shoes.

 

A bottle of pills was found on the ground, near the car.

 

Cops could not confirm whether he worked as a for-hire driver, and the TLC did not immediately return a request for comment.

 

Eight debt-burdened Big Apple cabbies have committed suicide in a span of just over a year. The most recent was Roy Kim, 58, of Bayside, Queens, who hanged himself with a belt in his home on Nov. 5, according to the city’s medical examiner’s office. ( https://nypost.com/2018/11/14/another-nyc-cab-driver-deep-in-debt-kills-himself/ )

 

Many drivers blame the suicide epidemic on the meteoric growth of ride-share companies such as Lyft and Uber, which has pinched everyone’s pocketbooks.

Edited March 25, 2019 by samhexum

[caliguy]

New York is at least better than any other state as far as fairness for the cabbies. Lots of regulations on Uber.

 

Here in LA they're planning a strike because they've taken the Uber fares from $0.80 per mile to $0.60 per mile. I find that unbelievable. Who can make any money doing that?

Edited March 24, 2019 by caliguy

[Deadlift1]

They must of had issues prior to their suicides. I refuse to blame Uber.

[samhexum]

They must of had issues prior to their suicides. I refuse to blame Uber.

 

Taxi medallions in NYC cost $1 million+ before Uber & Lyft. They are valued at $150-200 thousand now. Cabbies have lost their homes because they couldn't pay their mortgages. Some had mortgaged their homes to finance the purchase of the medallions in the first place. Now it looks like we'll get 'congestion pricing' soon in mid-town Manhattan, which will add a $2.25/ride surcharge to each fare, which could further reduce ridership.

 

I don't know what the answer is because Uber & Lyft have been very beneficial for so many people, but there are many cab drivers suffering in NYC and the 9 suicides in the past year unfortunately probably won't be the final total.

[Deadlift1]

Taxi medallions in NYC cost $1 million+ before Uber & Lyft. They are valued at $150-200 thousand now. Cabbies have lost their homes because they couldn't pay their mortgages. Some had mortgaged their homes to finance the purchase of the medallions in the first place. Now it looks like we'll get 'congestion pricing' soon in mid-town Manhattan, which will add a $2.25/ride surcharge to each fare, which could further reduce ridership.

 

I don't know what the answer is because Uber & Lyft have been very beneficial for so many people, but there are many cab drivers suffering in NYC and the 9 suicides in the past year unfortunately probably won't be the final total.

I agree. And mass transit is on its last leg. We could of rebuilt the entire NE corridor infrastructure with the money spent on Iraq and Afghanistan.

[Deadlift1]

Taxi medallions in NYC cost $1 million+ before Uber & Lyft. They are valued at $150-200 thousand now. Cabbies have lost their homes because they couldn't pay their mortgages. Some had mortgaged their homes to finance the purchase of the medallions in the first place. Now it looks like we'll get 'congestion pricing' soon in mid-town Manhattan, which will add a $2.25/ride surcharge to each fare, which could further reduce ridership.

 

I don't know what the answer is because Uber & Lyft have been very beneficial for so many people, but there are many cab drivers suffering in NYC and the 9 suicides in the past year unfortunately probably won't be the final total.

I meant I agree with not knowing what the solution is.

[+ V-Vhitner]

Bloomberg tried to help evolve our NYC taxis during his mayorship. They scuttled his efforts - and laughed in his face.

 

And he then told them what would happen after he stopped being mayor...

 

A bed of their own making.

[+ quoththeraven]

The strike in LA further supports what The Economist has reported: neither Uber nor Lyft cover their costs. Moreover, it is not unreasonable to believe that if left unregulated, not only will they drive taxis out of business but once they dominate, they will increase fares significantly as well as continue to exploit their drivers.

 

The whole concept is only sustainable if it's a part-time gig for most drivers.

[+ honcho]

The strike in LA further supports what The Economist has reported: neither Uber nor Lyft cover their costs. Moreover, it is not unreasonable to believe that if left unregulated, not only will they drive taxis out of business but once they dominate, they will increase fares significantly as well as continue to exploit their drivers.

 

The whole concept is only sustainable if it's a part-time gig for most drivers.

 

I totally agree with what quoththeraven said, and think it is really, really sad.

[Walker1]

New York is at least better than any other state as far as fairness for the cabbies. Lots of regulations on Uber.

 

Here in LA they're planning a strike because they've taken the Uber fares from $0.80 per mile to $0.60 per mile. I find that unbelievable. Who can make any money doing that?

I don't remember the recent IRS exemption-but I think even the IRS allows .64 cents a mile?

[+ honcho]

I don't remember the recent IRS exemption-but I think even the IRS allows .64 cents a mile?

 

I just looked it up yesterday ... (I have a part time hobby as a recording engineer and a client wanted me to drive 160 miles round trip)

 

it is currently .58 *dollars* per mile (58 cents per mile). IRS issue standard mileage rates for 2019

If you want to write off travel done for a charity, that's only 14 cents per mile. Moving and medical transport is 20 cents per mile.

[marylander1940]

"If you can't beat them join them"

 

here in DC, you can select a taxi from Uber, also many Uber drivers used to be taxi drivers. I feel sorry for those who bought a taxi medallion, it's worth pennies on the dollar but all other drives should make a choice.

[+ pitman]

When it comes to exploitation of workers, Uber and Lyft are as bad as companies in any other industry.

 

Uber, Lyft Drivers Planning to Strike in Major Cities on Wednesday

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-and-lyft-strike-protest-drivers-planning-to-over-pay-rates-2019-5

[MrMattBig]

Several years ago I had roommates driving for Uber and I remember it was $1.10/mile.

Now its cut in half basically while costs for drivers only go up!

F*cking ridiculous! I don't whether to not give these companies business now, or take more rides to help support drivers.

Ugh!

[BgMstr4u]

In many parts of the US regular taxis are not a realistic option. For those places without extensive taxi service or even minimally plausible public transport, which is like most small and medium sized cities and suburban and rural areas, Uber and Lyft have been a godsend. People who could not get around now can. The rules governing taxis are often onerous and the economics daunting, so their fares are higher than many people can afford. I suspect that the Uber business model is based on drivers working occasionally to supplement other income, providing a revenue stream to pay for car expenses and a bit of money on the side, not for full time permanent employment.

 

My heart goes out to the taxi drivers caught in this squeeze. My anecdotal experience in NYC, having lived there for seven years ending a decade ago, is that the drivers who do the work and pay the bills for the medallion owners are often caught in a terrible squeeze even without Uber’s competition. It would be interesting for some enterprising journalist to research who the medallion owners are and how they are treating their drivers in the face of the loss of medallions’ value. NYC is rife with shady characters wherever there is big money to be made, and for a long time medallions were like LA real estate: the prices only moved in one direction - up. Now that they have lost value, the pressure on drivers to make more for the owners and keep less for themselves may be too intense.

Edited May 9, 2019 by BgMstr4u

[Mocha]

Several years ago I had roommates driving for Uber and I remember it was $1.10/mile.

Now its cut in half basically while costs for drivers only go up!

F*cking ridiculous! I don't whether to not give these companies business now, or take more rides to help support drivers.

Ugh!

 

Even though I use Lyft “sometimes” (and usually rather take the risk of going to a bar in my own car, and simply managing my liquor)...I have my opinions.

 

Lyft/Uber has made catching a taxi “cool”, whereas before I hated getting inside a metered cab. Most were stinky and the drivers from the Middle East. Just wasn’t very glam.

 

However, many Lyft/Uber drivers...I just don’t always know their level of driving. I think it’s an exhausting line of work to do.

 

For example: I have no problem driving 500 miles to a new city. But doing an Uber round the clock, in city traffic, crazy drivers (and maybe passengers), for the amount of money per mile...it’s just not my style.

 

At the same time: look at how FOSTA and stuff like Grindr affected our bottom lines. You can’t say something “can’t” be blamed. But it boils down to: will Lyft and Uber eventually meet their demise as a fad, or will there be a merger (perhaps Uber/Lyft buy up the cab companies, pay more, etc).

 

I know one thing: People have foregone cars to take Lyft/Uber everyone. To each is own, but paying $11-12 just to go a mile or 2 adds up in a major way.

[Nvr2Thick]

Most of the Lyft drivers I meet are full-time. Many live 45-90 minutes outside the city. A typical driver chooses a "shift" and has staked out a location or a series of locations based on the time of day. A driver will "commute" to the city well before or well after rush hour and get into position waiting for ride requests -- either in a specific neighborhood waiting for airport runs or hotel-business runs. At certain times of day a driver will return to the airport cell phone lot as a home base. He or she will transition to ideal neighborhoods for AirBnB'rs looking to party downtown, and then troll downtown or the entertainment districts for people calling it a night. Many of them will work a ten hour shift.

 

Lyft ExpressDrive is extremely popular. Rather than dealing with the unpredictable maintenance burden on the driver's own car he or she uses this deal where Lyft provides a car through a rental company and charges a fee for the vehicle and insurance off the top of the driver's ride income. The fee drops substantially as you average more rides per day, so there's a big incentive to work long shifts.

https://www.lyft.com/expressdrive

 

It's been a long time since I've met a casual Lyft driver. It's kind of rare to see one driving his or her own car. This business model was sold as part of the "gig economy" but it has transitioned into a fairly direct replacement for taxi companies -- without the regulation and employer responsibilities.

[+ Pensant]

I’m a fairly frequent Uber/Lyft user both here and abroad. Most of the drivers seem friendly and well adjusted and I always leave a 5 star review and a tip. My experience with cabs has largely been the opposite: rude or angry drivers, poor English skills and questionable hygiene. Thus, I haven’t been in a cab in the US since 2012.

[samhexum]

Uber posts $1B loss in its first quarter as a public company

 

Ride-hail giant Uber lost more than $1 billion in its first quarter as a public company.

 

Though the eye-popping figure had been expected by investors, the company also confirmed Wall Street’s fears about slowing growth.

 

The cash-burning outfit gave investors no indication that profitability is in the foreseeable future — though Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi told German newspaper Handelsblatt earlier this week that profitability will come after the next year or two.

 

Nonetheless, investors brushed off the loss and Uber shares climbed 2.5 percent, to $40.80, in after-hours trading as Khosrowshahi expressed confidence during an earnings call. Shares are still below their IPO price of $45.

 

Khosrowshahi said that the stock’s poor performance in its public debut should not be a cause for concern, and added that the company will grow more efficient as it continues to expand.

 

“It is ultimately just one moment in a much larger journey,” he said, adding: “Our teams are very, very motivated to prove Uber’s value to our shareholders.”

 

The San Francisco.-based company brought in $3.1 billion in revenue — at the high end of its expected range — beating Wall Street’s forecast $3.04 billion and representing a 20 percent year-over-year jump.

 

Also on the positive side, Uber mentioned decreasing competition from “the other player,” rival Lyft — which went public in March — noting that it “started to see signs of less aggressive pricing.”

 

Costs were up 35 percent in the quarter for Uber, thanks to discounts and promotions.

 

Uber said its global monthly active users rose to 93 million, from 91 million, at the end of the fourth quarter.

Lyft shares — which are down nearly 30 percent since its IPO — were up 2.3 percent in extended trading Thursday, at $56.10.