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Uber on Big Island

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Uber on Big Island
knieft Offline
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#31
03-23-2017, 02:36 AM
quote:
Originally posted by reni

hi knieft,
The site said rides between lower HPP and Hilo airport were not available.
Uber is all new to me. Are you available between lower HPP and Hilo Airport?
THANKS!

Uber works by matching drivers online with riders online requesting rides. So pre-arranging isn't really an option through the system. Seems that will be a problem for airport runs (or any kind of runs) from Puna. Maybe someone will go after that market with a post on craigslist or something to pre-arrange. They could simply be a private driver, or use Uber as the interface. To use Uber the driver and rider would both be online at the pre-arranged pickup site, and then the rider requests a ride, the driver gets the request and the passage happens. In theory.

Of course, then Uber takes its 20% cut...

Cheers,
Kirt
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leilanidude Offline
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#32
03-23-2017, 02:44 AM
The way I am seeing how the app works, why would a potential passenger want to tell others (as in others on the plane) who would then switch from a taxi at the airport to Uber? This would possibly end up creating "surge" pricing and cost the person more money for the ride.
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knieft Offline
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#33
03-23-2017, 02:45 AM
quote:
Originally posted by PaulW

Maybe you could get a magnetic Uber sign made (like Neighborhood watch has) and stick it on the passenger side of your car as you're doing loops around Hilo airport.

There are many such options on Amazon. I suspect the security would notice someone looping the airport repeatedly, especially advertising with a Uber sign of some sort.

I had always imagined that many travelers arrived at the airport and were surprised there was no Uber when they checked.

I almost have to wonder if Uber is somehow blocking requests from the airport as part of the rollout. Seems unlikely and unreasonable and probably a stupid conspiracy theory, but the explanation that among many hundreds of arrivals, no one is checking Uber seems even more unlikely.

I wish I had a way to ask the other Uber drivers if anyone has got an airport request. Maybe my experience was some sort of statistical outlier...

Dunno.

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Kirt
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leilanidude Offline
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#34
03-23-2017, 02:59 AM
On the mainland, I see Uber cars with simple signs taped to the inside of the side window, usually on the passenger side. Usually seems to a 8.5x11 piece of white paper with UBER printed in a large font and bold. Not too sophisticated...
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macuu222 Offline
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#35
03-23-2017, 03:00 AM
It doesn't work for the airports. At least not the Kona Airport. I tried to get one from Kona Airport to the Hilton and it said "Uber is not available for that requested route". But it works fine from the Hilton "to" the airport.

http://uber-rates-kailua-kona-hi-us.uber...mator.com/
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HereOnThePrimalEdge Offline
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#36
03-23-2017, 03:00 AM
... wonder if Uber is somehow blocking requests from the airport as part of the rollout. Seems unlikely and unreasonable and probably a stupid conspiracy theory

Probably the smartest conspiracy theory I've yet to read on Punaweb...
(especially since it doesn't include mention of chemtrails as a signal blocking mechanism. What's at the airport? Jet airplanes!)

You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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PaulW Offline
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#37
03-23-2017, 03:09 AM
One way to find out, drop off a friend there and get them to try Uber while you're sitting in the cellphone lot.
It could well be, muscling in on the airport run is maybe something Uber has to work towards.
I think there's a trick for that for those in the know, you can specify a different pickup location.
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knieft Offline
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#38
03-23-2017, 03:16 AM
quote:
Originally posted by leilanidude

The way I am seeing how the app works, why would a potential passenger want to tell others (as in others on the plane) who would then switch from a taxi at the airport to Uber? This would possibly end up creating "surge" pricing and cost the person more money for the ride.

Perhaps, but then they would still do a request once through baggage, no?

I wonder if Uber suppresses any surge pricing during a rollout. Might be alienating to new riders in an area to see surge prices. Again, I dunno. When I heard one of my pickups on the first cruise day say that they got the message "all area Uber drivers are busy" I would think that would be condition for a surge. There was no surge that I could see.

Without knowledge of Uber's actual algorithm I am totally just guessing.musing/speculating in the dark. The most important part of the algorithm I wish I knew is the "distance" factor. How far from Hilo, for instance, would a rider request come from? Akaka Falls? Keaau? HPP?

Until that is known, I don't see how the Puna subdivisions will be served. Some folks would almost have to do an experiment to get some data. Say if a driver sat online at Orchiland at a specific time and folks around Orchidland, HPP (lower, upper, Hilo-side, Kalapana-side), Pahoa, Keaau, etc. and checked the Uber rider app for availability. Then one could see the distance of the (I assume) concentric circle of availability. Would it be based on route distance from the driver or as the crows flies?

(For example, Seaview is probably less than a few miles from 130/Kamaili Rd intersection, but many miles away via either the Kalapana route or Kamaili Rd. Bad example because of the lack of cell reception in the area, but the route distance between Orchidland center and mid depth Ainaloa would be different for route distance vs crow flies.)

Or a single driver riding around checking ride availability in a few directions when a driver in known to be online at a predetermined location.

And even then whatever data came through might not be all that generalizable to all times. Would love to see that Uber algorithm! Seems a closely guarded secret:

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology...place.html

https://www.quora.com/How-does-Ubers-dis...rithm-work

https://www.fastcoexist.com/3052703/the-...m-revealed

Cheers,
Kirt
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My 2 cents Offline
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#39
03-23-2017, 03:25 AM
"I almost have to wonder if Uber is somehow blocking requests from the airport as part of the rollout."

I could be wrong about this, but I think the cab companies bid for the right to work the airport, therefore only one company gets it. If Uber didn't bid or didn't win, then they would not be allowed to work the airport. Hence the block.
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kalakoa Offline
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#40
03-23-2017, 03:44 AM
cab companies bid for the right to work the airport

A simple Google search suggests: Uber may or may not have permission; bans may or may not be enforced.

https://www.uber.com/airports/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/you-cant-ta...1467829592
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