re: Yellow Cab manager "Uber service would threaten cab companies, passenger safety"

I live in nyc and have used uber quite a bit. Some points for people that want to know more:

- uber gets background checks, all personal info of drivers
- if drivers get too many bad reviews, they're dropped from uber
- no cash ever needed. It's billed to the credit card on your account. The driver turns on the meter from the app on HIS phone (provided by uber).
- as others have pointed out, you can view all uber cars nearby, and where your car is when it's on its way
- you may have heard about price gouging. This happens because uber guarantees that you can get a car with its service. So when demand is high, rates go up to keep the service available. Conversely, when demand is really low, rates go down quite a bit. This is probably only a problem for big cities. NYC had a big price gouging problem with uber after Sandy.
- You can easily get uber credits by getting friends to sign up. We've gotten over $100 so far in free rides.
- haven't had to use it yet, but heard the customer service is outstanding
- all cars I've been in have been new looking and very clean, all driver's nice as well.
- most driver's have been gypsy cab or yellow cab drivers for years and years. They're not just some stranger trying it out. They can do this on their own with their own cars and get paid more than with cab companies.