Uber will offer helicopter service between Lower Manhattan and New York JFK starting this summer. The ride-sharing service plans to take on BLADE, which currently offers helicopter service between all three New York airports (JFK, LGA, and EWR) and...
Uber Banning US, Canadian Riders With Low Scores
Uber has expanded its program to boot US and Canadian riders from their app who have substandard star ratings as they have in other countries. On the surface, this plan makes sense but it’s imperfect and may not work...
How Uber And Lyft Drivers Game The System
Uber and Lyft drivers are creating artificial surge pricing in Washington, DC to drive up fares. They insist this is necessary to “flight back” against years of declining pay. Here’s how the trick goes down. The lot outside Reagan...
Why I’ll Stick To Taxis And Avoid Uber In Germany
Uber is back across Germany…but be careful, as the drivers are not exactly well-experienced. I was recently in Germany with my business partner. We landed in Frankfurt and needed to get to Mainz. When I travel alone, I take...
Uber Punitive Star System Bad for Drivers and Passengers
Uber’s star rating system allows passengers and drivers to rate each other anonymously. In some countries, Uber is barring riders from the app for having a four-star rating and that has me scared. If you are considering booking travel or signing...
Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: April 15, 2018
Greetings from Los Angeles. It is good to be home after two nearly weeks in Europe. I had a fabulous trip (hope you have been enjoy the Italy road trip report), but there is no place like home…especially after...
Why is My Uber Rating Dropping?
Here’s the paradox of tipping coming to Uber: I now tip far more generously than before, but my rating is dropping. Honestly, I care much more about any secret comments on my Hyatt or United profile than what my...
Pilot Stranded Miles Away from Airport by Angry Lyft Driver
It happens often, but it is not always captured on video. An airline pilot was ditched in a grocery store parking lot seven miles from Los Angeles International Airport. Why? His Lyft driver had no desire to travel to...
The Most Incredible Uber Driver. Ever.
I’m finally on the road again…and had to get from my office to LAX earlier this morning. That’s typically a one hour drive in morning rush hour. Small problem: I cut things too close and found myself 40 minutes...
Here’s Why Uber Will Continue to Operate in London
Keep calm. Uber will carry on in London. Transport for London (TfL) announced this morning that Uber would be banned starting next month because of safety concerns. It tweeted the announcement, just one minute after informing Uber. Transport for...
A Disappointing Relief: Tipping Officially Comes to Uber
If you live in Seattle, Minneapolis or Houston, you can now tip directly in the Uber app. By the end of July, tipping will be rolled out across the USA. That’s a disappointing relief. My views on Uber tipping...
Crazy Uber Driver in Vienna
“But the Uber app says 40 minutes.” “No, no. It will only take 30. No problem.” I always chuckle at stories like Lucky’s race through Brussels and now I have an almost identical one of my own. Friday evening...
I Forgot My Wallet. Thanks Dad.
It’s amazing what a combination of stress and hurry will do. Yesterday I nearly flew to Germany without my wallet. Sometimes you plan things out so well you just mess them up. I was in a hurry yesterday. Not...
Uh Oh! Uber Self-Driving Car Crashes in Arizona
Uber has really had a tough year. I just posted a story called Double Standards and Dirty Tricks from Uber? about contradictory messages the company is sending to its drivers and riders. Now a self-driving vehicle has crashed in Tempe,...
Double Standards and Dirty Tricks from Uber?
Is Uber secretly encouraging drivers to call riders and pressure them to cancel if the ride does not “suit” the driver? As I wrote about here, Uber drivers are increasingly calling ahead to ask where you are going, then cancelling if...
Why I’m Still Hesitant to Tip on Uber
The issue of tipping and Uber is still a difficult one for me. One of the most popular posts I’ve ever written on Live and Let’s Fly is 5 Tips for Using Uber at LAX. I wrote it in August 2015 and...
I Was Involved in an Uber Accident…
A traffic accident is always scary, no matter the circumstances. First, I’m okay. Second, it happened with Uber in Jakarta, not in the USA. But, I was involved in a minor Uber accident while driving from the airport to the Grand...
Is an Uber Boycott Appropriate?
Protests over President Trump’s Executive Orders concerning immigration are taking place at major airports across the United States this afternoon, and protestors in New York have found an additional foe: Uber. A surge in calls to delete the Uber app have gone viral...
Uber Annoys in Washington, DC
We used a lot of Uber in Washington, DC last weekend and had a decidedly mixed experience. In all honesty, I prefer Metro in Washington. Since my Uber rides in Los Angeles are nearly always flawless, I wonder if...
