<p>Uber provides an experience different than most taxi rides. The first clue, when an Uber driver arrived at the Harbor View Hotel Tuesday evening for a trip to the Steamship Authority terminal, was an enormous chocolate Labrador riding shotgun.</p>
Uber provides an experience different than most taxi rides. The first clue, when an Uber driver arrived at the Harbor View Hotel Tuesday evening for a trip to the Steamship Authority terminal in Vineyard Haven, was an enormous chocolate Labrador riding shotgun.
Uber, the mobile phone-based ride sharing service, plans an official launch for service on Martha’s Vineyard within the next several weeks, sparking strong opposition from Island taxi companies. There are already about six Uber drivers operating on the Island.
Dave, who declined to give his last name, is one of them. He signed up and began taking passengers about a week ago. The relatively small number of drivers currently operating illustrates one of the initial criticisms of Uber. The quest for a test ride, aiming to simulate a typical trip from a hotel to the ferry terminal, began at noon Tuesday, but the Uber app showed no drivers available. The ride service would not have been an option for anyone trying to catch an afternoon boat.
The first driver showed up on the phone app about 5 p.m. It showed the driver’s location in Vineyard Haven, about 15 minutes away. A request for a pickup at the Harbor View in Edgartown was not accepted, About 20 minutes later the app showed Dave on duty in Katama, six minutes away. He immediately answered a request for pickup. The app showed a picture of Dave, his license plate number, a description of his vehicle including the number of seats available, and an estimate of the fare.
The estimate for this trip was $17 to $23. Fares are based on a combination of time and mileage. If traffic is heavy and the vehicle is moving slowly, the app automatically switches over to a rate based on time, and switches back when the vehicle resumes a certain speed. Fares can also change minute to minute, based on supply and demand.
Also displayed is a button that provides a way to contact the driver directly by phone. The app showed Dave’s rating, as assigned by riders once the ride is complete, was five on a scale of five. Dave also rates his passengers, on the same scale, which other drivers can see when you request an Uber ride. Dave signed in from Katama, shortly after finishing a shift on one of several other jobs he holds, so the Uber display showed his car sitting still for a minute or two, before the display began to track his progress on a map, and update his estimated time of arrival minute by minute.
He arrived at the hotel and warmly introduced himself and the dog to a first-time Uber user, offering a clean and comfortable rear seat.
“What’s your musical preference, because I have a wide array of music,” Dave asked the first-time rider. The request was for jazz; did he by any chance have something to play by the legendary bebop composer Thelonious Monk? Dave did. He piped a medley of Monk tunes from his iPod to his car speakers through Bluetooth, an impromptu set that lasted all the way to the ferry terminal.
Dave, a musician on the Island who holds down a collection of part-time jobs, said he hopes Uber becomes his only other job. He likes being his own boss.
“It gives me a lifestyle that I love to live,” he said. “If Uber works out on the Island, and I don’t need to have other work, I’ll just play music at night, and drive at night, and spend daytime on the beach with my dog. I don’t drink, so I can go hang out at a bar, see some friend’s band playing, put the app on, get a call and leave,” he said.
Dave said nearly all of his fares have been from people who are comfortable using the service elsewhere.
“The folks that I’ve had have been off-Islanders, who use Uber all the time in Boston or New York, and were pleasantly surprised when they came to the Island and looked on their Uber app,” he said.
Uber drivers and passengers are still working the kinks out. Dave forgot to swipe his Uber app to start the fare, and discovered the error halfway through the trip. At the end of the trip, the fare appeared as $13.98, but the driver said later it would have been $17. With a $5 tip, the total fare would have been $22. The Uber app instantly sent the rider a receipt and asked to rate the driver. The company says tipping is not necessary, but Dave said most people tip, as they would a taxi driver. Knowing the driver will rate his passengers may provide an incentive to tip well.
Across the street, a line of taxi vans was waited as a Steamship Authority ferry pulled into Vineyard Haven. The first driver in line was Dejan (Doc) Brokin, working for Stagecoach Taxi. Stagecoach has licenses to operate in both Tisbury and Edgartown.
Doc agreed to make the return trip to Edgartown. The cab was clean and comfortable, if a bit cavernous for a single rider. There are no meters in Island taxies, but when asked, Doc politely quoted a fare of $22. Fares are displayed on a piece of paper taped to the dashboard in front of the forward passenger seat. The fares are difficult to read from the middle seat in the van. Island taxi rates are set by boards of selectmen in each town, a situation that frustrates some passengers, since a company licensed in one town can charge a different fare for the same trip than a company licensed by another town. The $22 fare is based on two people. Each additional person going to the same location would cause the overall the fare to go up another $3.
“At the end, for 10 people, it’s like $5 or $6 a head” said Doc. “It’s not too bad. It’s almost like a bus.”
A frequent complaint among taxi customers is the practice of delaying the start of a trip until a 12-passenger van is full, with each passenger charged the full fare as the driver stops at multiple locations around the Island. But on this day there were no other passengers and the trip began immediately.
Doc said he makes a decent living, driving 50 to 60 hours per week in the summer, enough so that he works only one job. He is not all that worried about competition from Uber.
“I don’t think it’s going to affect my company that much,” he said. He noted that his fares are set, while Uber’s fares will fluctuate with supply and demand, and with the time it takes to make the trip. “In the summer when the traffic is really bad, I don’t know how much the fare is going to cost with Uber. They’re going to need an hour to get from Vineyard Haven to Edgartown; I don’t think people are going to want to pay that.”
He also noted that someone from Stagecoach Taxi is on duty around the clock. Most towns require round-the-clock coverage as a condition of a license.
“We have taxi stands around the Steamship, they cannot park over here. I think they’re not going to affect us. My company does a lot of business with hotels and weddings. Maybe it’s going to affect the companies who work at the airport,” he said.
With little traffic, the return trip by taxi took about the same time as the Uber trip. The price was $27 with the same $5 tip.
Doc dropped the passenger off at the front door of the Harbor View Hotel, and hustled to open the door.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to remove several personal details about the Uber driver, and to provide his account of the actual cost of the ride.
Comments
I have found that if I need a
Kathleen NortheastI have found that if I need a MV taxi, it does take forever to get home, as they go a really circuitous path, and each passenger is charged full rate. Will either company accept small in lap dogs?
Yay for competition! We don
William EdgYay for competition! We don't have taxis on MV. We have van ride shares where each couple/family stuffed in to a 12 passenger van each pay full fare for each location. We are the only place in the state that does this. I wish the selectmen around the island would authorize only proper metered taxis. Just ask any tourist who spent an hour getting to their hotel in Katama or Edgartown after dropping everyone else first.
This isn't totally true. If
EdThis isn't totally true. If you call for a cab you almost guaranteed to be given a private ride.
I've said it before and I'll
Jim H West TisburyI've said it before and I'll say it again and I'll keep on saying in response to these posts -- NOBODY HAS TO SHARE A TAXI on Martha's Vineyard. All you have to do is call one of the 20-plus Island taxi companies and request a pickup and they will send a cab to meet and you can have the cab to yourself. You do no need to share the cab with anybody if you don't want to. While far from perfect, the large passenger vans at the boat are useful in dispersing the large crowds that come off the boats at busy times. If the cabs only took one or two people at a time when the boat comes in there wouldn't be enough cabs for everybody. Or conversely there would need to be a parking lot full of cabs to satisfy demand which would lead to massive traffic and parking problems. With that being said anybody who wants their own cab can call any taxi company in any of the towns and they will have a vehicle there waiting for you and you alone. It's not as complicated as some people want to make it out to be.
While this sounds great, in
RD WTWhile this sounds great, in reality I've experience something far different than just calling a bac, and presto you have a cab. I called a cab for my young son who wanted to get home from a Y dance. An hour later than when they said they would arrive I got a call from my boy saying they hadn't arrived yet. I ended up making the drive across the island and shuttle kids home.
If it were the case that I could walk up to a taxi and say take me home, and not have to wait for the van to film up, then we wouldn't have yet another gripe, but they just sit and wait, and wait. What is the difference between if I call a can, and if I walk up to an empty cab? Either one I'm willing to pay the same fare, yet walking up I pay the same, yet do not get nearly the same service.
As I mentioned, the cabs on Nantucket(at least what I'm told) do not do this, and they seem to do just fine.
A little disingenuous. 20
Allan OBA little disingenuous. 20-plus cab companies are owned by a small handful of people, and their drivers refuse in-town rides all the time. This is a much needed alternative to the way it's always been!!
“Uber provides an experience
Benoit Baldwin West Tisbury“Uber provides an experience different than most taxi rides.” Different, as in how “illegal” is different from “legal”. Unlike a licensed taxicab and driver, an UberX car and driver have neither the licenses nor the liability insurance to carry passengers for hire anywhere in Massachusetts.
Just one slight correction-
Philip Vineyard HavenJust one slight correction- uber drivers must carry $100,000. in liability insurance.
Every single ride provided by
Peter VHEvery single ride provided by UBER car is insured for up to $100 000. Truth please!
It's true. The application
tim edgartownIt's true. The application process is quite extreme. You must have a newer vehicle and prove proper registration, inspection and insurance requirements.
The truth is exactly as I
Benoit Baldwin West TisburyThe truth is exactly as I stated it. I encourage every UberX driver to chat with their friendly neighborhood insurance agent about their newfound hobby. Nothing has changed in Massachusetts since the DOI issued its Consumer Alert last year. http://blog.prac.com/doi-consumer-alert-ride-car-sharing-services/
Uber has a commercial
Uber Driver MVUber has a commercial insurance policy with up to $1 million dollars per incident...
I can tell you for a fact
Jim Hickey - Owner Bluefish and Aquinnah Taxi West TisburyI can tell you for a fact that every single Uber driver here on the Island has regular license plates on their vehicle, as opposed to taxis which have commercial plates which require a higher level of insurance. And I can yell you that those driver's insurance companies have no idea they are using their private vehicles for an illegal transport-for-hire company and if they did they would almost certainly drop their policy immediately.
The following is from a recently released report on Uber conducted by Philadelphia's City Paper online newspaper:
"One way Uber has fewer costs than the taxi companies is that its drivers use their personal insurance policies as their primary coverage. Uber assures drivers that their personal insurance policies are sufficient, but many big insurance companies have been very clear that they disagree.
"Private passenger auto policy isn't intended to cover livery services," Nicole Mahrt Ganley, a spokeswoman for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, told the San Francisco Chronicle in November. "There is little question that engaging in livery services is a material change in the nature of the risk being insured, and most states would allow companies to cancel coverage."
Uber reassures drivers that they've got them covered, but their vaunted $1 million policy is secondary for collision — that is, drivers must try to get their own insurance companies to pay the claims first. If the claim is rejected because the insurer figures out it's Uber-related, then Uber's policy kicks in — but the driver's almost certainly going to have his personal insurance policy cancelled, and in some cases be investigated for fraud.
I'm so happy Uber is on the
Rich BostonI'm so happy Uber is on the island! I use this app at least once a week in Boston, you DO NOT have to tip, most drivers in the city actually refuse it, so new time users; do not feel weird about not tipping. Stuffing into an island cab gets old really quick, go uber!
It seems there's a theme to
RD WTIt seems there's a theme to the complaints about the island taxi companies, and I wonder if the owners of these firms are listening. In speaking to taxi drivers on Nantucket they said rates do not double after a certain time, and that it's less likely that taxis will just sit and wait to fill up before leaving a spot. What makes the Vineyard so different from Nantucket where they have to charge exorbitant prices after a certain time, and pack a van before taking off? Really I can't see the difference besides wanting to make more money.
If they didn't take seperate
EdIf they didn't take seperate fares how would everyone that needed a ride get one? There is a finite number of taxis allowed on the island and an even smaller number of places to park them. The towns would have to allow the companies to run double or triple the amount of taxis to acomamdate private rides for a packed boat in August.
So glad to see Uber here. MV
Island Mike MVSo glad to see Uber here. MV taxis - Time to clean up your act - not to mention you cabs! Uber has arrived!
Flip side...If you arrived in
Cara Slats West Tisbury / BostonFlip side...If you arrived in VH off a full boat, you would be equally unhappy if you saw 10 vans rolling out with 1-2 passengers a piece as opposed to waiting for you to fill then van. SSA makes the additional taxis wait until the boat's car traffic has cleared before letting others enter, forcing you to wait for another 20+ precious minutes. How quickly do you think an Uber taxi will be able to navigate through 5 corners? Will you have to drag your luggage down to Cumberland Farms to meet them since there's no parking in the lot at Stop N Shop?
Praise Uber all you'd like but it's just going to put more cars on the road, causing more traffic and delays getting you around the island than it has in the past. Then the Gazette will print an article and you can jump back on your soapbox about the horrendous congestion. A test run in mid May will never reflect the true experience.
It's an island with a slower pace...so take your expectations and egos down a notch or two. The people who live here and drive for either transportation option are just looking to pay the rent and bills. Have some compassion for the workers behind the scenes as opposed to whether or not you'll make your 6pm resi at the Beach Plum. If you need to rush-rush everywhere because you're super important, then vacation in Boston and Uber it to Revere Beach.
Cara, its not about rushing
Dan Oak BluffsCara, its not about rushing anywhere. It's about being treated decently, getting a ride when you need one - i.e. not being refused a ride because the fare wasn't long enough, and acting like the passengers matter. It is long time for some of these cab owners to be taken down a peg - they have been unfettered to long.
I heard there is an app
Fishing BumI heard there is an app coming out for fishing boat shares too! The guides out there are so expensive!!! You gotta be a gazillionaire to go out with one. This way people with boats can take others out, charge a fair price and get some return from their investments. Not paying technically for a guide or captain...so zero regulatory license money is wasted. This share concept is great and is changing so many things!
Take an Uber cab to the dock and be on the water in no time for a fraction of the cost. You can catch fish right next to richie rich and laugh to the bank.
that's called a 'head boat'
deshandra brown mvythat's called a 'head boat' where any number of people can go along fishing and pay per head. Its nothing new in the rest of the country. Doesn't the 'skipper' out of OB offer that so people don't need a private charter? Didn't the old 'ranger' do the same in edg years ago?
Not so sure how much
Don Juan VHNot so sure how much additional cars will be added to the mess at 5 corners / water street. "Mom, you don't have to pick me up at the boat, I'll just take an Über ride home!"
I can’t take it anymore. I
Jim West TisburyI can’t take it anymore. I told myself I would keep off these message boards and not concern myself with the nonsense and lies being thrown around so casually regarding Uber and the taxi companies on the Island. But now I see that the Vineyard Gazette, our newspaper of record, is editing its stories to protect this multinational, multi-billion dollar and illegal company which has no connection to the Island and has yet to appear before any town board o reach out to any officials here regarding their plans for the Island. You have to ask why is the Gazette editing its stories to appease this predatory corporation, but for now lets look at how the story was edited.
The original edition of the story, posted Thursday night on the Gazette web-site (which is also the version that appears in the print edition, so its easy to find) included the following paragraph:
“Uber drivers and passengers are still working the kinks out. Dave (the Uber driver) forgot to swipe his Uber app to start the fare, and discovered the error halfway through the trip. He and the rider agreed to drive around for a while to approximate the fare. It came to about $20. With a $5 tip, the journey was complete.”
The original article also contained a paragraph comparing the reporter’s experience driving in a regular taxicab to the Uber ride. “The return trip by taxi took about the same time as the Uber trip. The price $27, with the same $5 tip, was comparable.”
But the current on-line edition has been edited, and the paragraph about Dave driving “around for a while to approximate the correct fare” has been removed. The paragraph stating the price of the Uber and the regular taxicab were roughly the same is also removed. Instead a new paragraph is added which completely contradicts what was reported in the original edition of the story.
“At the end of the trip, the fare appeared as $13.98, but the driver said later it would have been $17. With a $5 tip, the total fare would have been $22,” the edited version reads.
For starters, this is not accurate. I’m no math expert but $13.98 plus the $5 add-on by the driver comes to $18.98, not $17 as the driver said the fare should have been, and not the $20 that was actually charged. And this is by no means an accurate measure of Uber's fares since the amount was completely random and had no bearing on the actual mileage driven. The story (both versions) states that the Uber driver didn’t start the fare until “halfway through the trip,” which would seem to indicate that the actual fare would likely have been much more – most likely more than the flat rate charged by the regular taxicab.
There are many things that are alarming about this report – why is it okay for the driver to make up a random amount and add to the meter? What’s to stop him from charging an extra $10 or $20? And that extra money is off the meter, the company has no idea he is charging extra and I am sure he is not sharing any of that with the company.
But even the stuff remaining in the edited version of the story raises questions about the viability of Uber on the Vineyard. Even though the article takes a lighthearted tone regarding the Uber experience, it does state quite clearly that the reporter had to wait FIVE HOURS before he could order an Uber taxi – does anybody EVER have time to wait five hours before they can get a ride? And while the article seems to find it amusing the driver showed up for the pickup with his dog in the front seat, I can tell you that many people would not find this amusing.
Some people are scared of dogs, some people are allergic dogs and some people I am sure would think its just plain wrong to drive around with a dog while you transport them for money. Not to mention I would have to think it violates Uber policy and almost certainly the health code. I may not have Thelonious Monk on my iPod (although I do have some Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck,) but I can tell you that I also don’t have a dog in my taxi when I pick you up, and I also wont make you wait five hours for a ride.
You don't understand
NmcYou don't understand insurance. The car and driver have to have their own commercial insurance. They are independant operators. Uber claims they have no employees. So the policy covers themselves, not the actual driver and car. Let alone they have no permits to commercially operate
Is any creature more reviled
Rex Treadwell TisburyIs any creature more reviled on this fair isle than the surly taxi driver driving like an escaped psychiatric inmate in his dingy van? Perhaps the lowly deer tick.... Or perhaps not.
Creatures I revile more than
Benoit Baldwin West TisburyCreatures I revile more than deer ticks: the selectmen, the police chiefs, and the town counsels who said they could do nothing, and who have done nothing, to stop an unlicensed, uninsured taxicab franchise business, which has been operating here for over month now. This, on an island where you need a permit to operate any business more involved than a children's lemonade stand. This, on the island of “Buy Local, Ban the Big Corporations”. But who I most revile is those members of the public who know nothing about the economics or regulation of the taxicab business here, or anywhere, and continue to proudly display their ignorance for all the Internet to see; who cheer on the multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise known as Uber. We are rubber and you are glue, whatever you say bounces off us and sticks to you. Every aspect of the taxicab business is subject to oversight by the public—fares and the method of their calculation; driver appearance and conduct; age, condition, and type of vehicles; insurance levels; hours of operation—EVERYTHING. You say you have bad taxis? Oh, no, no, no. What you have are bad citizens. The two towns with the worst taxis on the Island are the two with the worst governments and police departments, and therefore—by extension of the democratic system—the worst residents.
I don't know about that Rex,
Ed Cisek EdgartownI don't know about that Rex, me and my coworkers have a plethora of regular customers that use us almost everyday. I know many of them by their first names and have pleasant conversations about the goings on in their lives. Funny too that drivers are often requested by name by visitors throughout their vacation.
I know Island cabbies that
JoshI know Island cabbies that have rolled around with dogs in the passenger seat as well, so I'm not sure what that detail has to do with Uber.
Now here is my recommendation
Truthteller CANow here is my recommendation for entertainment: Turn off the TV, the online downloading, or your entertainment of choice and just read the comments in the local papers and have a good laugh....
You would think the taxi
Learn... Edgartown`You would think the taxi companies would look at how much Uber customers love the system (it's not about price) and implement something similar. Rather than compete, upgrade their vehicles, invest in technology, and make an effort towards customer service they're going to whine.
Oh, by the way, wasn't that one of those "regulated and safe" MV Taxis I saw on fire last week?
This has nothing to do with customer satisfaction or providing a nice, safe service. It's about revenue for the towns and perpetuating a system that the vast majority of riders absolutely deplore.
Want Uber to go away? Make your service better than them.
Oh, and other businesses...take note. It's 2015 and there's a thing called the internet. Stop hiding under a rock and crying "shop local" and implement the technology. It's what your customers want, and it's going to happen whether you like it or not.
If you'd asked a travel agent
Rex Treadwell TilsburyIf you'd asked a travel agent circa 1992 what they thought of online booking they would have painted a hysterical horror scenario that ended with them as the only good option. Today their former offices are cobwebbed. Flash forward to 2015 and substitute the sputtering taxi can owner.
So we don't have McDonald's
Ralph Edgartown and CTSo we don't have McDonald's here, but we allow Uber which has a history of invading riders' privacy and has been rejected in almost every foreign country?
Go Uber!
DaveGo Uber!
I feel the need to stand up for this great service. I use it almost daily in Boston. It is cheaper and more convenient than any cab service, especially when compared to the absurd taxi situation on island. Where else do you have forced shared rides and have to pay the same rate regardless of how many stops/passengers? There are so many misconceptions about Uber, but it really is the safest, cheapest, and most convenient option for consumers. And tipping is NOT expected, indeed one of the best things about Uber is that you don't need to exchange any cash. You simply get out at your destination and your card is automatically charged. Hopefully more island drivers sign up!
Well, I am done with UBER
Ken BostonWell, I am done with UBER mainland or island and have been a supporter on the mainland. All weekend I have apparently been taking rides all over London, but I live in Boston. Done, done, done with uber. For those using it, CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD NOW! And better yet, delete the app completely.
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