Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Tijuana Uber report

Almost three years in, car service has slipped a couple rungs

Meme suggesting decline in quality of Uber drivers
Meme suggesting decline in quality of Uber drivers

There is a vast difference between what Uber was when they started in Tijuana in 2015 and what the company is now. Cars were new and clean. Drivers used to offer water, mints, candy, or phone chargers. Most drivers were courteous and asked passengers what radio station they would like to listen to; some drivers would even get out of the car to open the doors. Uber quickly won the hearts of tijuanenses, as citizens preferred the convenience of the ride-sharing app to the beat-up taxis that had to be hailed from the sidewalk.

Taxis weren’t happy, and with the help of the government, they tried to shut down Uber operations in Tijuana. A legal tug-of-war started between Uber and taxis, who fought and protested to protect their territory. Citizens overwhelmingly supported Uber. In July 2017, the conflict came to a head when taxi drivers at the border beat up and hospitalized tourists trying to order an Uber ride.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The San Ysidro border crossing in Mexico is now patrolled to avoid confrontations between Uber drivers, taxis, and customers. The PedWest border crossing installed signs adjacent to the taxi pickup area that read “zone for applications and alternative transit.”

Since this summer, a decline in the quality of Uber service has been noticed. “That was the worst Uber ride I had,” my girlfriend told me when she got home in August. “He was rude, he smelled bad, and he was blasting horrible music. I asked him to turn it down or change the station. He adjusted his mirror, shrugged, and barely turned it down. I was afraid to speak after that.”

Customers complain about the service, drivers complain about the pay. The Facebook group “Uber Tijuana,” with over 135,000 members, is a constant source of information, misinformation, complaints, memes, drama, and even missed connections between drivers and customers.

In the Facebook group, drivers post screen caps or photos complaining of the worst clients they had or about customers that only go a few blocks away. The minimum fare is 28 pesos, less than $2. Clients post pictures complaining about certain drivers attitudes or about not getting picked up. Others try to sell, rent their cars, or hire Uber drivers. Some shady accounts offer to sell Uber credits or paid rides.

After I posted the question of who were the best or worst clients, a driver responded, “I just kicked a guy out for being a princess.” I asked him to elaborate. He wrote back, “For safety when I pick up a person, I lock the doors and open the passenger door. The dude kept trying to open the back door and then came up to me asking if there was something wrong with my back doors. He got in with an annoyed expression and said ‘agh, whatever, let’s go.’ I told him to get out, I already canceled the trip. He asked me why, to [which] I responded because I want too [sic].”

Another driver responded, “The best, the one that invited me to drink and paid for the prostitutes. The worse, the one that took a shit in the backseat."

My post didn’t get as much response as a popular meme that reads:

“Uber in 2015 — Good afternoon sir, would like water? Candy? A charger for your phone? Uber in 2017 — Sup dog? Don’t tell me it bothers you that I’m smoking crack.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tijuana sewage infects air in South Bay

By September, Imperial Beach’s beach closure broke 1000 consecutive days
Meme suggesting decline in quality of Uber drivers
Meme suggesting decline in quality of Uber drivers

There is a vast difference between what Uber was when they started in Tijuana in 2015 and what the company is now. Cars were new and clean. Drivers used to offer water, mints, candy, or phone chargers. Most drivers were courteous and asked passengers what radio station they would like to listen to; some drivers would even get out of the car to open the doors. Uber quickly won the hearts of tijuanenses, as citizens preferred the convenience of the ride-sharing app to the beat-up taxis that had to be hailed from the sidewalk.

Taxis weren’t happy, and with the help of the government, they tried to shut down Uber operations in Tijuana. A legal tug-of-war started between Uber and taxis, who fought and protested to protect their territory. Citizens overwhelmingly supported Uber. In July 2017, the conflict came to a head when taxi drivers at the border beat up and hospitalized tourists trying to order an Uber ride.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The San Ysidro border crossing in Mexico is now patrolled to avoid confrontations between Uber drivers, taxis, and customers. The PedWest border crossing installed signs adjacent to the taxi pickup area that read “zone for applications and alternative transit.”

Since this summer, a decline in the quality of Uber service has been noticed. “That was the worst Uber ride I had,” my girlfriend told me when she got home in August. “He was rude, he smelled bad, and he was blasting horrible music. I asked him to turn it down or change the station. He adjusted his mirror, shrugged, and barely turned it down. I was afraid to speak after that.”

Customers complain about the service, drivers complain about the pay. The Facebook group “Uber Tijuana,” with over 135,000 members, is a constant source of information, misinformation, complaints, memes, drama, and even missed connections between drivers and customers.

In the Facebook group, drivers post screen caps or photos complaining of the worst clients they had or about customers that only go a few blocks away. The minimum fare is 28 pesos, less than $2. Clients post pictures complaining about certain drivers attitudes or about not getting picked up. Others try to sell, rent their cars, or hire Uber drivers. Some shady accounts offer to sell Uber credits or paid rides.

After I posted the question of who were the best or worst clients, a driver responded, “I just kicked a guy out for being a princess.” I asked him to elaborate. He wrote back, “For safety when I pick up a person, I lock the doors and open the passenger door. The dude kept trying to open the back door and then came up to me asking if there was something wrong with my back doors. He got in with an annoyed expression and said ‘agh, whatever, let’s go.’ I told him to get out, I already canceled the trip. He asked me why, to [which] I responded because I want too [sic].”

Another driver responded, “The best, the one that invited me to drink and paid for the prostitutes. The worse, the one that took a shit in the backseat."

My post didn’t get as much response as a popular meme that reads:

“Uber in 2015 — Good afternoon sir, would like water? Candy? A charger for your phone? Uber in 2017 — Sup dog? Don’t tell me it bothers you that I’m smoking crack.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Dia de los Muertos Celebration, Love Thy Neighbor(Hood): Food & Art Exploration

Events November 2-November 6, 2024
Next Article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader