Soon a phone won’t be required for Uber hailing.

[hardcorestitch]

It’s about to go into trial runs at LaGuardia… soon Uber will install kiosks at high traffic areas like airports and sports venues. The functionality will be like the Uber app, but the difference is that you now don’t need to set up an Uber account. You’ll pay at the kiosk and get a ticket from the kiosk that you’ll hand over to the driver on arrival. This will certainly benefit older folks who aren’t tech savvy.

 

[oswald1927]

Interesting although I wonder how many people are interested in using the service but find the app a barrier? Not seeing the market share.

 

[MillauFr]

Uber is losing market share in Seattle pretty quickly as they are far more expensive than traditional cabs. Plus when you request them during high demand periods at SeaTac airport you have to wait 30 to 45 minutes for them to show up. Cabs are waiting at the curb.

 

[tvguy]

It’s about to go into trial runs at LaGuardia… soon Uber will install kiosks at high traffic areas like airports and sports venues. The functionality will be like the Uber app, but the difference is that you now don’t need to set up an Uber account. You’ll pay at the kiosk and get a ticket from the kiosk that you’ll hand over to the driver on arrival. This will certainly benefit older folks who aren’t tech savvy.

OMG. Kiosks are far worse than apps for us older folks. And sometimes for younger folks too.

 

[Allison]

I am not sure someone who isn't tech savvy is going to be any more comfortable using a kiosk.

 

[SirDuff]

So, going back to taxi kiosks?

 

[MillauFr]

The best way out of La Guardia is taking the Q70 to the Jackson Heights subway station.

 

[kdonnel]

OMG. Kiosks are far worse than apps for us older folks. And sometimes for younger folks too.

So true.

I have stood behind people at kiosks that just can't seem to understand how to make the necessary selections.

Then there is this poor woman.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Uber is losing market share in Seattle pretty quickly as they are far more expensive than traditional cabs. Plus when you request them during high demand periods at SeaTac airport you have to wait 30 to 45 minutes for them to show up. Cabs are waiting at the curb.

More expensive than traditional cabs now, yikes that is unexpected.

 

[loves to dive]

I watch a Utuber from England and they have a Kiosk at both the hotels that are attached to the airport (I don't remember which airport out of London). They always use it, just go down the night before and order it and set a time and its waiting for them the next morning. I don't use Uber myself but will say, as an older person (68) I have no problems using an app. or a kiosk. Just saying.

 

[gmi3804]

The population is aging so that most everyone who might need to use a kiosk is familiar with how to use one.

 

[Deb]

The population is aging so that most everyone who might need to use a kiosk is familiar with how to use one.

yup, we are fast reaching a point that no one will be uncomfortable with basic tech based upon their age

 

[nancipants]

I would not feel comfortable using Uber or Lyft without an associated app. I guess the ticket will be their way of tracking, but I'd feel much safer having the app on my end. Then again, I very rarely use ride shares alone, and when I do, I'm in constant communication with someone else.

(Yeah, same dangers with taxi services, but at least those drivers are employees of the service and supposedly there is some vetting involved.)

 

[kdonnel]

yup, we are fast reaching a point that no one will be uncomfortable with basic tech based upon their age

There will be a constant supply of older people to replace the current older people.

It's not just a lack of exposure to technology at a young age that makes the current batch of aged struggle with technology.

There are age related physical and cognitive changes that make interacting with technology hard for older people. Memory, attention, and processing speed are greatly reduced as we age.

Vision changes and reduced fine motor skills also play a role together with app design choices that favor aesthetics over usability. I know my father in law who has always been techy, struggles to use apps because his hands shake so much it is physically difficult to press the right buttons.

There will always need to be allowances made for the aged.

 

[NYCgrrl]

The best way out of La Guardia is taking the Q70 to the Jackson Heights subway station.

Or depending on where you are going the M60 which travels to and from the Upper Westside to La Guardia.

 

[gmi3804]

There will be a constant supply of older people to replace the current older people.

It's not just a lack of exposure to technology at a young age that makes the current batch of aged struggle with technology.

There are age related physical and cognitive changes that make interacting with technology hard for older people. Memory, attention, and processing speed are greatly reduced as we age.

Vision changes and reduced fine motor skills also play a role together with app design choices that favor aesthetics over usability. I know my father in law who has always been techy, struggles to use apps because his hands shake so much it is physically difficult to press the right buttons.

There will always need to be allowances made for the aged.

They’re not going to be asked to get a high score on Tetris. A user-friendly system, one easy enough even for those with “issues” will most certainly be implemented.

 

[irlandaise]

I would not feel comfortable using Uber or Lyft without an associated app. I guess the ticket will be their way of tracking, but I'd feel much safer having the app on my end. Then again, I very rarely use ride shares alone, and when I do, I'm in constant communication with someone else.

Yeah, if you aren't using the Uber app, you'd have to take extra steps to share your real-time location with a friend for safety purposes. (Unless you have your phone set to always share with that person.) If kiosks are intended for use by people who don't have smartphones, then they never had that capability anyway, but still...

I don't use Uber; I've used Lyft a number of times and haven't yet used the "share my ride" feature, but I know it's there.

 

[Genie+]

I watch a Utuber from England and they have a Kiosk at both the hotels that are attached to the airport (I don't remember which airport out of London). They always use it, just go down the night before and order it and set a time and its waiting for them the next morning. I don't use Uber myself but will say, as an older person (68) I have no problems using an app. or a kiosk. Just saying.

Yeah this kiosk helps avoid issues, especially those international travelers commonly encounter. From Time Out NYC:

“The kiosk offers a phone-free, app-free, data-plan-free way to request a ride. International visitors without roaming, travelers with dead batteries and anyone who simply likes a screen they can touch now get a low-tech path to an Uber. Just walk up, type in your destination, browse upfront prices for UberX, Comfort, XL and more, and print your paper receipt (yes, paper) before heading to the pickup point.”

 

[MillauFr]

More expansive than traditional cabs now, yikes that is unexpected.

Yep. Way more expensive. Uber is charging $100+ from SeaTac to the city for many rides. Reddit is just filled with complaints about the high prices here.

 

[NotUrsula]

They’re not going to be asked to get a high score on Tetris. A user-friendly system, one easy enough even for those with “issues” will most certainly be implemented.

And that's a great idea, but I'm betting the farm that a kiosk will still be a touchscreen, and there are a LOT of older people who either cannot see well enough to use one, or who have issues with touch screens not responding to their fingers. (And not just the elderly. Workers in some manual occupations (who develop callused fingers) and people who have certain chronic diseases, such as Reynaud's or rheumatoid arthritis, also often have trouble with them.

DH & I are still a few years short of official retirement age, but both of us have begun experiencing difficulties with touch screens not responding in the last year or so. If a kiosk is meant to be an alternative for people who cannot easily use phone apps, then it should be set up with actual buttons so that it can be used by the blind as well.

One of the most ironic things I've seen in my time was a medical building directory kiosk that notified blind people that it could be operated by voice command -- with a printed message on the screen. I didn't see a braille label on it anywhere that would let a blind person discover that, even if they somehow know that they are standing in front of an electronic building directory. I have a legally-blind friend who can manage a phone for the most part, but she has the largest phone she could get, and she has to hold it 2 inches from to her eye to read it, which makes it very awkward to operate, because she has to get her hand between the phone and her face and still manage to touch the right spot.

This part of the equation matters a lot more for a ride service like Uber than it does for most other kinds of services, because people who cannot drive for whatever reason make up a very large part of their clientele, particularly in areas with unreliable public transit.