Could Uber Be More Efficient than Pace?

None of the links on this web site got me prices.

None of the links on this web site got me prices.

Even though I have not seen an Uber car locally, when I typed in “Uber, McHenry County” I actually found something.

When RTA started in 1974, it seemed to me the most economical approach would be to subsidize taxis.

That didn’t happen.

In fact, RTA tended to drive other existing forms of transportation out of business.

Not only taxis, but also train service to Walworth.

RTA shut it down. Can’t remember what technicality was used, but those who used that train service starting running a bus to the Crystal Lake train station until RTA stopped that as well.

Not licensed by the Illinois Commerce Commission, don’t you know.

It was easy for me to conclude that RTA was not interested in mass transportation; rather it was interested in empire maintenance.

RTA's purpose was to suck money from the suburbs to subsidize the Chicago Transit Authority.

RTA’s purpose was to suck money from the suburbs to subsidize the Chicago Transit Authority.

In 1974, McHenry County was too sparsely-populated for buses to be an efficient mode of transportation.

It still is.

For buses to be effective mass transportation, I found as I was researching the subject in 1974, there must be population density of at least so many per square mile. I can’t remember the number, but I do remember that the 1970 Census showed just three such square miles in McHenry County. I think Harvard had two such square miles and Woodstock one.

But that was it.

Bus service in McHenry County was doomed to be woefully inefficient from Day One.

Besides being pretty much the spokesman for the opposition to the passage of the Regional Transportation Authority referendum, I was also active afterward.

School Buses at CLCHS parking lot close-up

School buses travel throughout McHenry County.

So much so, that one big bus that came to the Crystal Lake train station had, “Hi! Cal Skinner!” written by removing the dirt on the back window.

At some point I realized that McHenry County already has a bus transportation system.

That system was run by schools.

“Why not let anyone get on when a school bus came past?” I thought.

The news about pedophiles killed that idea.

Pace provides an opportunity for those without motor vehicles to get free food.  But it didn't show up one day.

Pace provides an opportunity for those without motor vehicles to get free food. But it didn’t show up one day.

One of those who comes to get free food at the First United Methodist Church distribution at the Nunda Township Hall had called Pace the day before to be picked up at 11:30.

The calling Pace the day before is a severe limiting factor to the serve.

Even though the reservation for a Pace ride had been made the day before, the Pace bus did not come.

A volunteer had to take the lady to McHenry.

The subsidy for Pace rides in McHenry County is about $26 each.

Riders pay $1.

The Uber web site is so poor that I can’t find pricing data, buy my guess is that mos trips would be less than $26.

If so local subsidies could be paid to Uber for the difference in the its trip price and the $1 charged the subsidy-eligible passenger.


Comments

Could Uber Be More Efficient than Pace? — 15 Comments

  1. Probably not when they become regulated exactly like taxi cabs which is what’s been happening in major cities.

  2. Empire Maintenance.

    LOL, Cal.

    You just perfectly described ALL government.

  3. And what do some local Republicans want to do?

    Increase the cost of government by consolidation of Townships!

    After all, the REGIONAL Transit Authority was such a great success!!

    The listing for Uber in Rockford indicates $1.50 per mile and $.20 per minute with a base fare of $2.00 and a safe rider fee of $2.00 and a minimum of $5.00.

    The fare listed for Chicago is even lower!

    Don’t Townships have the ability to offer Taxi vouchers to those who qualify for General Assistance?

    Of course that would not work because Townships do verify qualifications.

  4. Really think of what is outside that box.

    Uber is already having troubles folks.

    The entire business model is based on people doing the work aren’t actually employees, contractors are responsible for insurance, maintenance and the like.

    California Labor Commission just ruled that they are employees, setting the table for long, expensive court battles.

    Remember Fed X just lost their battles with contractor drivers and Airbnb is also in trouble with the N.Y. Atty General.

    Nobody knows how all this ‘sharing economics’ is going to work out. But you have to ask yourself one question.

    Would you want a ride from some chisler who wants to make a couple of extra bucks, a potential un insured, who performs no maintenance on his vehicle and is a bad driver in the first place, carting around your 85 year old mom?

  5. It would work fine if the government got out of the way.

    People understand that in a sharing economy, things are unregulated and they take some risk, but they do it out of convenience and affordability.

    This is why lemonade stands that raise money for people with terminal illnesses get shut down.

  6. How does Uber handle disabled people?

    Wheelchairs etc?

    Pace handles the ADA situation well.

    Uber thinking might be outside of the box, but it does not address Fed ADA requirements.

  7. Joe, you are right on so many things, but NOT on the lemonade stand.

    Lemonade stands are shut down because we are firmly under Communism.

  8. The anecdote about Pace unreliability is,accurate according to several people I’ve spoken with.

    For years I was a volunteer driver for Senior Services Inc..

    It was satisfying providing rides for truly needy seniors as well as those who were younger but could not drive or find transport to, say, doctor appointments.

    Then there began to be many assignments to drive seniors who did not seem to be in adverse circumstances.

    When I asked the contact person at Senior Services about this, I was told that they had to give free rides to any senior, no questions asked.

    Now I believe Senior Services Inc. is a large grant recipient from the McHenry County Senior fund ( which taxed $1.7 million last year).

    Senior Service Inc. volunteer drivers are not paid, but gas stipends are offered.

    I never took one, and to my knowledge many other volunteer drivers also refused this reimbursement.

    Could some such agency ( or this agency!) which receives grant funding, offer some reliable volunteer driver service to alleviate some of the Pace funding burden?

    There is a huge volunteer force in the County which could be tapped, to help fellow humans in need.

  9. Pace could continue to handle those who could not get in a car.

  10. First off let me say this, I am a disabled veteran drives for UBER.

    Illinois has a diversified group of both veterans and disabled veterans working for them, this is called job creation for a lot of us who physically cannot keep up with a 40 hr week anymore, and also creates jobs for our Veterans coming home to unemployment.

    I hear sone of you crying,

    ” do you want an uninsured yahoo wanting to make a buck driving you”?

    Wel m let me educate you, those yahoo’s are veterans, disabled veterans, local teachers, and your local community members.

    94% of drivers work the areas they live near or in.

    The city of Rockford created a 3rd shift transportion option to alot of people who didn’t drive, and had no public transportation to use, job and community employment we call that, also every city in IL.

    That has Uber has seen their city and county grow in tax dollars because those yahoos, as you call them, spend that money back there on there community, gas, carwashes, maintenance etc. And small business have increased, and those teetering closing ate still open.

    We call that community growth.

    Also the city of Rockford is engaging in a plan to provide free rides to the elderly , disabled, low income etc.

    Thru a federal transportation grant, and eliminated the rest if their pace bus system subsidiaries because of crediting 20 plus dollars to pace for a $5 to $9 ride, therefore the savings from thsee subsidiaries has been reinvested in adding transportation for families who have children in local colleges and cannot afford a 2nd or 3rd car, so rather than kids working for minimum wage to save to get a car, and taking a year or so off school, their in school expanding on their education.

    So rather than hide behind critical comments here, write your local officials and ask them to look at programs in cities and counties like Rockford, Boone Co., Winnebago Co., Dekalb co. And those counties inner lying municipalities and ask them to quit wasting your tax dollars on transportation subsidiaries and instead create similar programs.

    After working with these cities personally, I think Mayor Morrissey in Rockford really saw opportunity with rideshare rather than as some of you describe…destruction.

    Not too mention every driver had to pass a backround check.

    Local cabs only have to pass state and county in which they reside , uber has a stringent multi state, county , and FEDERAL back round check. Every Uber vehicle when in service is required by state law to carry 1 million in liability insurance, cabs are only 50,000 in some cities and counties jn il., top cabs paying only 500,000 in required insurance, which is in chicago.

    Also every driver must meet strict DMV REQUIREMENTS, and pass a DMV back round also as well as yearly vehicle inspections for safety, cabs don’t have to do this at all.

    So some of you need to get your facts straight, rather than jumping on the media banwagon, and hearsay of incorrect info.

    I’m thinking though some of you with such wrong info. Are cab drivers!!!

    So, re read active community partnership , business growth, tax base revenue, job creation, subsidiaries savings and development for the community and more written above.

    Thats what rideshare co. Like Uber create.

    Granted there are some bad apples, but that’s everywhere.

    Think of it in another way, if your company you work for so hard and dedicated to, had an employee who did something horrible is it fair to then say everyone in your company is bad…hmm now the shoes on the other foot, so what’s your answer as to yourself being employeed at this very company this horrible act was done by one of its employees, one if your very co workers!!!

    Last but not least, you need to go to the airport and get home one day, yoh know a cab is going to be around say $80 there and $80 back , but an Uber will be $40 there and $40 back, which will you choose, you know darn well the Uber because it’s cost round trip is a cabs 1 way.

    Also since uber and rideshare came to IL., DUI results have drastically decreased, fact so much MADD just sponsored support for UBER.

    WOW!!

    WHEN is the last time you got into a clean cab, offering phone chargers, bottled water, news papers , sophisticated GPS system with accurate directions, and had a great conversation with the driver, and actually felt line a service was being provided for you at a reasonable cost, fact almost 1/2 a cab ride, 80% of the time , and 100 % of the time, compared to livery services.

    Last but not least, In metropolitan areas and smaller communities where there are foreign drivers picking you up in those cabs, how many keep their earnings here in the U.S. and spend that $$ here rather than send 62% out of the country?

    Also uber and rideshare drivers backround checks go back 7 years, max allowed by law.

    If a person is only here in the U.S 2 yrs and decides he is going to be a cab driver, and has no min. 7yr history to do a backround check on, how in the heck do you know let’s say if he is 40 yrs old, what his prior criminal history is the first 38 yrs of his life in another country???

    You dont, he could be a rapist, murderer, pedaphile, etc. Answer is you dont…so to those of you who say a yahoo is picking you up.when you order an Uber, who’s the real yahoo’s picking you up when you take a cab…

    As a disabled veteran who has been hit by an IED blast, shot thru the back and paralyzed in his left leg, I am grateful to have this job, as there are not many I can be my own boss, work when I want to, or better yet when my body allows me too, and not have to rely on food stamps, and public aid to live off.

    It also by not having to rely on those things actually keeps you critics taxes down and builds paying into social security and Medicare! !!

    Enough said, yoh made your points off false statements, some of you so u am correcting them here. Thanks

    BY THE WAY, IF YOU WANT TO ONE DAY USE THE SERVICE and try the experience for yourself, download the app, set up an account and in promotions section, if you never used Uber before and never had an account

    ENTER CODE : EIT3G THIS WILL GIVE YOU YOUR FIRST RIDE FREE ON ME UP TO $20.

  11. Aldo 1 more thing, there are Uber ADA vehicles out there.

    Also every Uber takes passengers and their assist dogs, no questions asked by the very 1st driver that shows up on that ride requst.

    Try hailing a cab on the curb with a assist dog and see how many pass you and won’t pick you up!!!!

  12. I have taken both.

    Pace when I was in a wheel chair was wonderful,and the calling the day before was hard, but if disabled you can call one week a head.

    Pace tries.

    They are so over whelmed.

    Often they have no openings now.

    Taxis are double.

    Also the township story you refer to is separate from the chuch.

    The township would have to do a back ground check of the whole houses income ect.

    The lady from the church drove the lady home from the food give away.

    The church serves to give out the food.

    They drove her home.

    Pace can be wonderful, but mistakes happen.

    If it does and you are in a different town you will be in trouble.Uber is good too,can do last minute.

    It is less then a taxi,but some still can only afford Pace.

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