- proudstatetrooper - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 10:35 am:
I would use it often. My son was down from Chicago over the holidays and wanted to use it. I think its great.
- Formerly Known As... - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 10:35 am:
Uber, Lyft and similar companies are great services. The more cities they are in, the better.
But any guesses on the number of days it will take before some legislator has one bad trip somewhere and brings back the Uber regulation bill with even more requirements in it?
==All Uber drivers must greet their passengers with a smile, particularly the driver of the vehicle bearing plate number ABC123.==
This is great for staffers who take the train from Chicago to Springfield for session!! Many of them live near the Capitol and it’s impossible to do chores without a car since there’s nothing near the Capitol other than some really great restaurants and bars (snark).
All the good restaurants/grocery stores/cleaners are out by the mall, so uber will definitely make life easier for many people.
===regular taxis are available and underutilized===
Yeah, but I’ve found the taxis to often be in various forms of disrepair and some of the drivers to be in various forms of creepy. No offense to the good drivers in good cars out there, but I know women in this town who won’t take a cab.
As someone who lives on the north end, I see a lot of people who shop at Schnuck’s and Wal-Mart and need to take a taxi. That is just one example of a “need”.
Also - now that the 10th Street Corridor is finally starting to materialize - Uber, Lyft and Handicar (just seeing if anyone is paying attention) would be attractive options for people coming through town. Soccermom, you are right. That was a discussion when the hub was designated for 10th Street. There are not enough taxi services in town to deal with a glut on a Monday night or a Tuesday morning during a session week to get people to-and-from downtown hotels.
This could be a good move with the strong tourism industry there, the college campus being so displaced from the bars downtown, the Amtrak station, and those of us that keep apartments for half of the year. If nothing else it will force the local cab company to step it up.
I also received the LinkedIn job notification, and I am more than happy to see Uber coming to Springfield. When calling for a cab in the evening downtown it is a toss up whether or not it will show up, if you can get through to the dispatcher. I was late to a concert on the North end recently because the cab that was sent for me picked up a series of different passengers on its way to me.
Also, I will further confirm that Cooper’s Hawkward is excellent.
True story, I was once downtown on business unrelated to the state. I ran into Kelly Kraft, who was due for a committee hearing, and was unable to get a cab. She and the hotel had called and arranged for it over an hour prior, and it still hadn’t showed up.
I ended up taking her and 3 others to the Stratton so they could make the hearing. It was an interesting 5 minutes of conversation, that was for sure.
It took me forever to catch a cab from Amtrak station one night. The driver said that she was substituting for another driver who got drunk on the job and was sleeping it off somewhere in his cab.
My cab had bulletproof glass and I felt like I was in a currency exchange. Not surprisingly, my driver did not have any change whatsoever on her….she wanted to keep the whole $20 bill for an eight dollar ride
While Springfield now has limited night bus service, getting anywhere on a weekend without your own car is tricky. Especially after dark.
Hopefully Uber creates another alternative way for East siders to get to night school and night jobs in other parts of the city, and back home again, with less tyranny of time tables. You may not appreciate just how good Chicago public transit is in terms of availability/cost, until you get stuck in Springfield without a car for a week. You can manage on busses in the daytime, weekdays, at least until 6 PM, but even there, the need to change over at the central hub to go cross-town makes any trip about an hour, where an Uber or Lyft cab ride is as they say “asynchronous”: it goes WHEN you wanna go, WHERE you need to go, direct, taking minutes, not hours.
If it does nothing but force the cab monopoly in Springfield to step up it’s game, it will have served a good purpose.
Wait, Kelly Kraft needed a ride to get from downtown to Stratton? Was it raining or snowing? C’mon, put on some flats and hike on over. It’s less than a mile.
And Soccermom, you know I love you but, really? A cab from the Amtrak station? Next time, get a reservation at the Statehouse Inn when you’re taking the train so you can drop your bag there on the way to the Capitol.
The only times I’ve ever needed a cab in Springfield was coming in from the airport. Of course, that’s generally the only place you can find a cab.
Living in Chicago, I use cabs at all the time.
However, if you are in an odd location Uber can be great. On the near west side it can be tough to find one after having a great meal.
We’ve also used them if one parent has the car and the other needs to drop the kids off at school. I just feel safer riding in a Uber black car with the kids than I do with a cab. The drivers tend to be better and the cars tend to be better maintained.
Of course, it vaguely embarrassing on days like today when we show up at school in what is basically a limo, but the kids are young enough that I don’t think anybody notices or cares.
Jeez, way to miss the forest for the trees. Doesn’t matter who it was, Kelly Kraft or anyone else. If you book a cab, and have it set for a certain time, you shouldn’t still be waiting over an hour after the time. In Springfield or anywhere else. The cab system is horrible in Springfield, perhaps Uber can make a go of it.
Certainly, she could have walked it. But what about those that can’t? Or don’t want to for that matter?
Guess I better work on my humor. Didn’t mean to sound crabby or anything, and I certainly didn’t mean to pick on two women, either. I love women. Some of my best friends are women.
As Stephen Wright once said, “everywhere is walking distance, if you have the time.” That’s especially true in downtown Springfield and the Capitol Complex.
Of course I don’t wear heels, so it’s easy for me to say, right?
The idea sounds promising and I agree that there is a market for it in Springfield, but I would like to put out a word of caution that the drivers/cars might not be the same quality of those in Chicago and other giant metros.
Again - when the train hub is fully relocated to 10th Street, the walk is no longer a block or two but about 9 or 10. Sorry, but even my youthful self would prefer not to lug a heavy bag and a couple of suits all over downtown to avoid a cab or an Uber/Lyft car.
I use Springfield cabs as a sometimes messenger service. They pick up at my desk and deliver to pretty much anywhere in town, when only originals will do.
===The only times I’ve ever needed a cab in Springfield was coming in from the airport.===
It will help get me out of the downtown sandbox more. I don’t like to drink and drive so the box is pretty small around the downtown hotels. Even Boone’s is a little far to walk back and forth to. I have had pretty good luck with the cabs. Quite a few interesting conversations with the drivers but as Rich says might be too creepy for some.
And usually when I use Uber I pick the cab options.
Don’t use them often but I’ve always gotten decent cab service in Springfield … however I can see the opportunity for some improvement in equipment and service.
Too bad Uber limits it to 2005 or newer cars. There might be a limited black car market for classic cars …
- Wordslinger - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 10:28 am:
What’s the market? Rides to the airport?
- Soccermom - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 10:31 am:
Word - It would be incredibly helpful to have Uber for those of us who take the train down to SPI.
- Soccertease - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 10:32 am:
Word, don’t forget Spfld has a new HyVee.
- proudstatetrooper - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 10:35 am:
I would use it often. My son was down from Chicago over the holidays and wanted to use it. I think its great.
- Formerly Known As... - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 10:35 am:
Uber, Lyft and similar companies are great services. The more cities they are in, the better.
But any guesses on the number of days it will take before some legislator has one bad trip somewhere and brings back the Uber regulation bill with even more requirements in it?
==All Uber drivers must greet their passengers with a smile, particularly the driver of the vehicle bearing plate number ABC123.==
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 10:35 am:
If you can’t stumble home from an establishment to your hotel, there is a market for that.
I’m sure there’s a few places the Uber cars can que up on a given session night.
Plus, it’s another option that can be pointed out as to why you shouldn’t drink and drive in Town during session when Uber is just an App away.
- walker - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 10:55 am:
My experience in Spfld was that regular taxis are available and underutilized. Could be wrong.
Not sure of the market, but a great political statement.
- Gator - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 10:59 am:
This is great for staffers who take the train from Chicago to Springfield for session!! Many of them live near the Capitol and it’s impossible to do chores without a car since there’s nothing near the Capitol other than some really great restaurants and bars (snark).
All the good restaurants/grocery stores/cleaners are out by the mall, so uber will definitely make life easier for many people.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 11:04 am:
===regular taxis are available and underutilized===
Yeah, but I’ve found the taxis to often be in various forms of disrepair and some of the drivers to be in various forms of creepy. No offense to the good drivers in good cars out there, but I know women in this town who won’t take a cab.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 11:05 am:
===All the good restaurants/grocery stores/cleaners are out by the mall===
Not true.
Although there is one incredibly good restaurant which just opened up by the mall.
- Team Sleep - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 11:06 am:
As someone who lives on the north end, I see a lot of people who shop at Schnuck’s and Wal-Mart and need to take a taxi. That is just one example of a “need”.
Also - now that the 10th Street Corridor is finally starting to materialize - Uber, Lyft and Handicar (just seeing if anyone is paying attention) would be attractive options for people coming through town. Soccermom, you are right. That was a discussion when the hub was designated for 10th Street. There are not enough taxi services in town to deal with a glut on a Monday night or a Tuesday morning during a session week to get people to-and-from downtown hotels.
- Dirty Red - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 11:07 am:
This could be a good move with the strong tourism industry there, the college campus being so displaced from the bars downtown, the Amtrak station, and those of us that keep apartments for half of the year. If nothing else it will force the local cab company to step it up.
- Team Sleep - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 11:12 am:
Rich - I agree. I took a cab a few times during my years at UIS and the cabs were, ahem, less than welcoming. That was over a decade ago, too.
- AlabamaShake - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 11:12 am:
**Although there is one incredibly good restaurant which just opened up by the mall.**
I want more details. What one?
- Sunshine - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 11:18 am:
Cooper’s Hawk is excellent….and in the Mall
- Rich Miller - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 11:31 am:
Sunshine is correct.
- A guy... - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 11:34 am:
For the time of day (not daytime) where they would be of most use, I think Uber would be most welcome. And most safe.
- Millennium - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 11:48 am:
I also received the LinkedIn job notification, and I am more than happy to see Uber coming to Springfield. When calling for a cab in the evening downtown it is a toss up whether or not it will show up, if you can get through to the dispatcher. I was late to a concert on the North end recently because the cab that was sent for me picked up a series of different passengers on its way to me.
Also, I will further confirm that Cooper’s Hawkward is excellent.
- Millennium - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 11:49 am:
Cooper’s Hawk* how is Hawkward an option for auto correct?
- How Ironic - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 11:59 am:
True story, I was once downtown on business unrelated to the state. I ran into Kelly Kraft, who was due for a committee hearing, and was unable to get a cab. She and the hotel had called and arranged for it over an hour prior, and it still hadn’t showed up.
I ended up taking her and 3 others to the Stratton so they could make the hearing. It was an interesting 5 minutes of conversation, that was for sure.
- AlabamaShake - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 12:03 pm:
Big fan of Cooper’s hawk. I assumed that was it.
Excited about that as a new option down there.
- OneMan - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 12:04 pm:
You wonder if the parties will have accounts set up to provide members a way to get home without getting in trouble.
- Gator - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 12:49 pm:
It took me forever to catch a cab from Amtrak station one night. The driver said that she was substituting for another driver who got drunk on the job and was sleeping it off somewhere in his cab.
My cab had bulletproof glass and I felt like I was in a currency exchange. Not surprisingly, my driver did not have any change whatsoever on her….she wanted to keep the whole $20 bill for an eight dollar ride
- Newsclown - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 12:54 pm:
While Springfield now has limited night bus service, getting anywhere on a weekend without your own car is tricky. Especially after dark.
Hopefully Uber creates another alternative way for East siders to get to night school and night jobs in other parts of the city, and back home again, with less tyranny of time tables. You may not appreciate just how good Chicago public transit is in terms of availability/cost, until you get stuck in Springfield without a car for a week. You can manage on busses in the daytime, weekdays, at least until 6 PM, but even there, the need to change over at the central hub to go cross-town makes any trip about an hour, where an Uber or Lyft cab ride is as they say “asynchronous”: it goes WHEN you wanna go, WHERE you need to go, direct, taking minutes, not hours.
If it does nothing but force the cab monopoly in Springfield to step up it’s game, it will have served a good purpose.
- 47th Ward - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 12:56 pm:
Wait, Kelly Kraft needed a ride to get from downtown to Stratton? Was it raining or snowing? C’mon, put on some flats and hike on over. It’s less than a mile.
And Soccermom, you know I love you but, really? A cab from the Amtrak station? Next time, get a reservation at the Statehouse Inn when you’re taking the train so you can drop your bag there on the way to the Capitol.
The only times I’ve ever needed a cab in Springfield was coming in from the airport. Of course, that’s generally the only place you can find a cab.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 1:02 pm:
47th, you’re kinda crabby today. Just sayin…
- Anonymous - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 1:16 pm:
Why not improve/expand transit?
- LincolnLounger - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 1:22 pm:
Try and get a cab on the weekend from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., and they just stop answering the telephone.
- Gooner - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 1:26 pm:
That’s great news for you all.
Living in Chicago, I use cabs at all the time.
However, if you are in an odd location Uber can be great. On the near west side it can be tough to find one after having a great meal.
We’ve also used them if one parent has the car and the other needs to drop the kids off at school. I just feel safer riding in a Uber black car with the kids than I do with a cab. The drivers tend to be better and the cars tend to be better maintained.
Of course, it vaguely embarrassing on days like today when we show up at school in what is basically a limo, but the kids are young enough that I don’t think anybody notices or cares.
- How Ironic - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 1:52 pm:
@47th Ward,
Jeez, way to miss the forest for the trees. Doesn’t matter who it was, Kelly Kraft or anyone else. If you book a cab, and have it set for a certain time, you shouldn’t still be waiting over an hour after the time. In Springfield or anywhere else. The cab system is horrible in Springfield, perhaps Uber can make a go of it.
Certainly, she could have walked it. But what about those that can’t? Or don’t want to for that matter?
- 47th Ward - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 2:14 pm:
Guess I better work on my humor. Didn’t mean to sound crabby or anything, and I certainly didn’t mean to pick on two women, either. I love women. Some of my best friends are women.
As Stephen Wright once said, “everywhere is walking distance, if you have the time.” That’s especially true in downtown Springfield and the Capitol Complex.
Of course I don’t wear heels, so it’s easy for me to say, right?
- Clark_Kent - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 2:17 pm:
The idea sounds promising and I agree that there is a market for it in Springfield, but I would like to put out a word of caution that the drivers/cars might not be the same quality of those in Chicago and other giant metros.
- Come on man! - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 2:35 pm:
Im sure that there will be a data breach and all the legislators ride logs will be apart of that.
- How Ironic - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 3:11 pm:
Hey, maybe Bruce Rauner can become an Uber driver in his ‘trash can’ van. You know, to show he’s a man of the people and all that.
- Team Sleep - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 4:37 pm:
47th - we all have our bad days.
Again - when the train hub is fully relocated to 10th Street, the walk is no longer a block or two but about 9 or 10. Sorry, but even my youthful self would prefer not to lug a heavy bag and a couple of suits all over downtown to avoid a cab or an Uber/Lyft car.
- Cheswick - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 4:44 pm:
I use Springfield cabs as a sometimes messenger service. They pick up at my desk and deliver to pretty much anywhere in town, when only originals will do.
- Been There - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 5:02 pm:
===The only times I’ve ever needed a cab in Springfield was coming in from the airport.===
It will help get me out of the downtown sandbox more. I don’t like to drink and drive so the box is pretty small around the downtown hotels. Even Boone’s is a little far to walk back and forth to. I have had pretty good luck with the cabs. Quite a few interesting conversations with the drivers but as Rich says might be too creepy for some.
And usually when I use Uber I pick the cab options.
- RNUG - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 6:55 pm:
Don’t use them often but I’ve always gotten decent cab service in Springfield … however I can see the opportunity for some improvement in equipment and service.
Too bad Uber limits it to 2005 or newer cars. There might be a limited black car market for classic cars …
- Soccermom - Tuesday, Dec 9, 14 @ 8:12 am:
But 47th has criticized me for worse things than this — and with justice, I am sad to say…
- The new William j Kelly - Tuesday, Dec 9, 14 @ 10:24 am:
47th ward, you are starting to sound like the old WJK! If there is anything I can do to help please let me know, I am here for you partner!