4 ms·

Enough with the fancy vans and apps. Russia has already solved this problem: http://www.st-petersburg-essentialguide.com/marshrutka.html http://www.st-petersbur

Enough with the fancy vans and apps. Russia has already solved this problem: http://www.st-petersburg-essentialguide.com/marshrutka.html http://www.st-petersburg-essentialguide.com/marshrutka.html They're private, cheap and ubiquitous and make getting around anywhere in Russian cities easy. Without these, buses from the burbs can't work.

CPLX 11y ago
We have those in NYC too, they are called dollar vans and they are ubiquitous, albeit apparently invisible to the upwardly mobile urban white people that are typically noticed by startups and the media.
- krakensden 11y ago
  Also illegal, no?
  - CPLX 11y ago
    Not necessarily. There are many legitimate TLC licensed dollar van companies, though there are many more that are not registered/legal as well.
ghaff 11y ago
And car-pooling has a long history although my sense is that it's perhaps less common than it used to be--probably because work hours tend to be more variable than in the past. While apps and so forth can reduce transaction friction enough to create markets where they didn't previously exist, I reserve the right to be suspicious of claims that an app suddenly makes a service viable that wasn't before.
- argo12 11y ago
  There is also a huge cultural element to this. The element of trust is a huge problem in most countries and in my opinion this will make it hard for carpooling to scale as a business idea.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
Grue3 11y ago
Marshrutki don't really run in the suburbs. Even if they do, these "suburbs" are high-rise developments with 10+ story apartment buildings. Not comparable to American one family/house low-density suburb at all.
- cpursley 11y ago
  To clarify, I've taken the metro from Moscow city center, and from the metro station exit - taken the Marshrutka to a "suburban" high-rise on the south-side. In the US, I propose basically the opposite. You drive to a parking area from your home, get on a bus (or metro if available) that delivers you to the city. But after departing the bus/train is the problem. From that departure point, there's few options to move you to disparate parts of the city (i.e., your actual office location) without hailing an expensive taxi/uber or walking an hour through the city. If something like Marshrutki were available at that point in the city, it would be a game-changer and make the suburban <--> city buses much more feasible.
ido 11y ago
I believe these & comparable services are ubiquitous all over the middle east, latin america & africa.

CPLX 11y ago

We have those in NYC too, they are called dollar vans and they are ubiquitous, albeit apparently invisible to the upwardly mobile urban white people that are typically noticed by startups and the media.

krakensden 11y ago
Also illegal, no?
- CPLX 11y ago
  Not necessarily. There are many legitimate TLC licensed dollar van companies, though there are many more that are not registered/legal as well.

ghaff 11y ago

And car-pooling has a long history although my sense is that it's perhaps less common than it used to be--probably because work hours tend to be more variable than in the past. While apps and so forth can reduce transaction friction enough to create markets where they didn't previously exist, I reserve the right to be suspicious of claims that an app suddenly makes a service viable that wasn't before.

argo12 11y ago
There is also a huge cultural element to this. The element of trust is a huge problem in most countries and in my opinion this will make it hard for carpooling to scale as a business idea.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

Grue3 11y ago

Marshrutki don't really run in the suburbs. Even if they do, these "suburbs" are high-rise developments with 10+ story apartment buildings. Not comparable to American one family/house low-density suburb at all.

cpursley 11y ago
To clarify, I've taken the metro from Moscow city center, and from the metro station exit - taken the Marshrutka to a "suburban" high-rise on the south-side. In the US, I propose basically the opposite. You drive to a parking area from your home, get on a bus (or metro if available) that delivers you to the city. But after departing the bus/train is the problem. From that departure point, there's few options to move you to disparate parts of the city (i.e., your actual office location) without hailing an expensive taxi/uber or walking an hour through the city. If something like Marshrutki were available at that point in the city, it would be a game-changer and make the suburban <--> city buses much more feasible.

ido 11y ago

I believe these & comparable services are ubiquitous all over the middle east, latin america & africa.