Why it takes so long to get ride hail, taxi cabs these days especially in Augusta, GA.
As you are reading this article, if you live in CSRA or surrounding cities, there is possibility you may have been disappointed at least once when your ride share driver didn’t show up in an urgent situation when requested and you had to call 706 513 1584 which is Augusta Taxi Company located in Augusta, Georgia(GA), Yellow Cab of Augusta or some other Cab Company to come to your rescue. This type of situation has happened to customers especially in Augusta, Waynesboro, Evans, Martinez, Grovetown in Georgia(GA) or North Augusta, Aiken, Beech Island in South Carolina(SC) when Augusta Taxi Company drivers had to rush to locations to get those customers to places like Augusta Airport(AGS) for very early flights, Hospitals or Clinics. In some instances, ride hail drivers would cancel ride for unspecified reasons which forced customers to have to call for Cabs to get to their destinations. As a matter of fact, some of those drivers just quit on the way to their passengers’ homes for personal reasons or reasons associated with low fares made on the trip. Drivers’ hourly earnings have increased since 2018, but some ride hail companies sued to block their raise last year and inflation has taken a toll.
When Uber started its operations in March 2009 with its name derived from German language “above all the rest”, its mission statement was “Make transportation as reliable as running water, everywhere, for everyone” but as time goes by this mission got changed to “We ignite opportunity by setting the world in motion”. Why did Uber change its mission statement? In a press statement, Uber said that the change was implemented to help the brand stand out from its competitors. Following a beta launch in May 2010, Uber's services and mobile app launched publicly in San Francisco in 2011. Originally, the application only allowed users to hail a black luxury car and the price was approximately 1.5 times that of a Taxi.
In case you did not know, two-thirds of rideshare drivers have been at some point “deactivated” or totally banned from working for those companies that gave them job as independent drivers. Drivers for ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft can be kicked off the apps after facing discrimination from riders. It has been reported that in some states, about 69% of drivers of color and 57% of white drivers are having experienced deactivation. When drivers are deactivated, either temporarily or permanently, they are not offered possible passenger pickups in the apps and therefore cannot earn money.
The study analyzed data from nearly 1,500 Uber and Lyft drivers in Seattle and Boston, and found that drivers who are African American, Hispanic, were more likely to receive negative ratings and comments from customers than white or Asian drivers.
The report also found that drivers who are women or identify as LGBTQ+ were also more likely to face discrimination. On more serious note, more than 40% of the drivers who had been deactivated reported that they were told it was because of customer complaints, while 30% of drivers said they weren’t given a reason at all. Nearly half, or 45%, of deactivated drivers said they believe they were kicked off the apps due to discrimination — including because of their race, ethnicity, accent, religion or gender. In fact, many drivers live in constant fear of being fired by an app, called ‘deactivation’ by the companies while there are no call for just-cause protections for drivers. In areas like Augusta, GA, some ride share drivers have complained about customers that have been racist to their drivers. One said “They have trashed my car, called me names”. This attitude discouraged the driver from continually working for the company. Another driver complained about wear and tear on his vehicle which takes away all profit made in five months plus his personal tax return to get his car fixed when desperately needed.
The last straw for one driver was while chatting with his passenger during a trip and found out that the amount shown on his phone was much less than that shown on his customer’s. Finding out that all additional fees charged by ride hail company he worked for plus the hidden amount charged to his customer’s card gave him just 45% of the amount made on the trip made him quit the job as a driver.
In the case of Taxis, despite increase in demand for Cab ride from customers, inflation rise, gas price and expensive repairs plus many other factors have limited the ability of Cab Company owners' desire to increase fleet to meet demand.