Submitted by Vysokojakokurva_C137 t3_1157m0i in baltimore
[deleted] t1_j91bjca wrote
Reply to comment by anne_hollydaye in What does “are you hacking?” mean when asked by pedestrians in the city? by Vysokojakokurva_C137
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smatastic t1_j91c5j6 wrote
Maybe, but there are no protections for either party. Getting into or letting a stranger into your car is something they told me not to do when growing up but, some folks just don’t have access to the apps or credits cards so they do what they gotta do I suppose.
carthellD t1_j922bfg wrote
When my immediate family used hacks (pre-smartphone), it was typically to haul a month's worth of groceries from the local supermarket to home. The guys who were hacking stood around the supermarket exit, were regulars, and older. The rates charged were less than a regular taxi.
We never flagged down hacks on the street for general transportation, namely to avoid any negative issues. But the reason why others do it is because personal transport is unavailable (the riders don't have cars, and neither does family nor friends), and faster than taking the bus. Negotiations are done by "feel." (The driver and rider have their own ideas of what should be charged to get to a destination, so they talk a bit until a rate is agreed upon.) The rates were typically lower than taxis.
About 30% of people who live in the city don't have a car, according to the 2015 Census count. Most of that number are renters. It was purely a cash economy when I grew up. I imagine that this has changed a little depending on how technically savvy a driver and rider is, and whether the rider has a bank account (there are many people who don't).
[deleted] t1_j91cgrd wrote
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carthellD t1_j924ymx wrote
Hackers don't have a global IT infrastructure to maintain, nor an administrative staff to market the service, provide customer service representatives, and manage resources on the back-end. Uber driver rates are cutthroat only on the ride share service.
As far as "calculating price": Passenger: I'm going to <destination>. How much? Driver: $X. Passenger: How about $Y? Etc. until a rate is agreed upon.
Kraqrjack t1_j9264w0 wrote
I use to hack drug addicts from my neighborhood “down the hill” to the dope holes. It’s how I got my own fix every day. There was no Uber. Even today you can’t typically leave your Uber waiting in an open-air drug market while you’re in line in the alley scoring your heroin.
BandFit2251 t1_ja08er6 wrote
Where would I go to score most convenient place in bmore?
Kraqrjack t1_ja0f7fp wrote
That was 25 years ago. I imagine if I still used dope all this time I’d be dead by now
spankenstein t1_j921gjp wrote
It originated as a sort of unofficial rideshare network predating Uber, when most taxis wouldn't pick up black people.
luchobucho t1_j92ii5d wrote
“It originated as a sort of unofficial rideshare network predating Uber, when most taxis wouldn't pick up black people.”
Baltimore was (is) a segregated city. Commercial taxis didn’t generally serve black people so hacking sprung up to fill a need.
I remember my grandpa would go hack outside the grocery store on sundays after church when I was a kid.
No-Lunch4249 t1_j91d40r wrote
Uber is really not that cheap anymore. I paid like $50 for an early morning ride to BWI a while back
taketheleap22 t1_j91icuk wrote
They charge an airport fee now when coming or going to the airport.
anne_hollydaye t1_j91gyk4 wrote
I have no idea. Was told so by someone I worked with awhile back.
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