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What's the user experience like? There is a lot of talk about these "worker-own" apps/networks, however I very much doubt that they are able to compete with the

What's the user experience like? There is a lot of talk about these "worker-own" apps/networks, however I very much doubt that they are able to compete with the uber level of service in the longer run. You need lots of software engineering etc skills to run this kind of service smoothly.

seivan 11y ago
Exactly. Outsourcing your main tech stach isn't exactly competing with Uber. It's easy to tell them apart. Which team has a properly restful API available to the public.
- LunaSea 11y ago
  It's amazing to me that you think that anybody (besides developers) will care about REST API design rather than the service offered by the driver.
  - repomies691 11y ago
    I don't care about the REST API, but I care how well the app works etc. It doesn't sound trivial to me. Showing the locations of the car and the customer in real-time, routes in real-time, having all the communication systems working all the time, the reputation system etc.
    - Q6T46nT668w6i3m 11y ago
      While I agree with conclusion, Uber, et al. doesn’t actually show real-time locations and the communication system is error prone.
      - matwood 11y ago
        It looks like real time locations when I've taken uber, unless you mean not real time as in slightly delayed time to get GPS, go to uber and then back to my phone.
  - seivan 11y ago
    It matters to me, it tells me tech isn't second hand unlike EVERY OTHER TAXI COMPANY with their shitty unreliable apps. It's a litmus test. Obviously your milage may vary but I've taken more Uber per month than I have taxis per year before Uber came to Stockholm. They made it so available.
- danpalmer 11y ago
  Uber's API is not RESTful. It's JSON over HTTP, with some correct verb usage, but that's all.
  - seivan 11y ago
    You're absolutely right. But I can't figure out how I would have done it better myself. Something I would have experimented with is price being a query parameter instead of a nested route. https://developer.uber.com/docs/v1-estimates-price https://developer.uber.com/docs/v1-estimates-price Though I appreciate the proper verb usage and not seeing shit like post /v1/bookCar GET /v1/getCars shudders
    - danpalmer 11y ago
      That wouldn't make it REST either. It meets the REST constraints granted automatically through use of HTTP, and doesn't meet any more through its design.
    - woah 11y ago
      REST is a strange box to try to cram the world into.
onion2k 11y ago
You need lots of software engineering etc skills to run this kind of service smoothly. True, but customers can and do put up with a terrible product if they have a good reason. Look at things like Napster - that was an appalling product but it had millions of users because it did something people really wanted. In the case of an owner-operated Uber clone, that app could be much worse if people want to support a business owned by their local drivers more than they want the smoother service of Uber. I have no idea how many people are anti-Uber enough to support a rival whose tech is only, say, 70% as good as Uber, but I wouldn't be that surprised that it'd be enough to work in some regions.
- HappyTypist 11y ago
  It's not just tech skills at all. The network effect is particularly multiplied with Uber, as the feedback loop is far stronger: * The fewer drivers you have, the longer ETAs there are. * The longer ETAs there are, the less drivers earn. * The less drivers earn, the less drivers there are. * Rinse and repeat.
  - amelius 11y ago
    But can't drivers be operating on multiple platforms at once?
    - HappyTypist 11y ago
      Technically yes, but some platforms increases the priority of drivers the longer they've been waiting. For someone operating on multiple platforms, they'll have to go offline when the other app gets a ping. This resets their priority, and really just results in a multi-operating driver getting 80-90% of their pings in the busiest app.

seivan 11y ago

Exactly. Outsourcing your main tech stach isn't exactly competing with Uber. It's easy to tell them apart. Which team has a properly restful API available to the public.

LunaSea 11y ago
It's amazing to me that you think that anybody (besides developers) will care about REST API design rather than the service offered by the driver.
- repomies691 11y ago
  I don't care about the REST API, but I care how well the app works etc. It doesn't sound trivial to me. Showing the locations of the car and the customer in real-time, routes in real-time, having all the communication systems working all the time, the reputation system etc.
  - Q6T46nT668w6i3m 11y ago
    While I agree with conclusion, Uber, et al. doesn’t actually show real-time locations and the communication system is error prone.
    - matwood 11y ago
      It looks like real time locations when I've taken uber, unless you mean not real time as in slightly delayed time to get GPS, go to uber and then back to my phone.
- seivan 11y ago
  It matters to me, it tells me tech isn't second hand unlike EVERY OTHER TAXI COMPANY with their shitty unreliable apps. It's a litmus test. Obviously your milage may vary but I've taken more Uber per month than I have taxis per year before Uber came to Stockholm. They made it so available.
danpalmer 11y ago
Uber's API is not RESTful. It's JSON over HTTP, with some correct verb usage, but that's all.
- seivan 11y ago
  You're absolutely right. But I can't figure out how I would have done it better myself. Something I would have experimented with is price being a query parameter instead of a nested route. https://developer.uber.com/docs/v1-estimates-price https://developer.uber.com/docs/v1-estimates-price Though I appreciate the proper verb usage and not seeing shit like post /v1/bookCar GET /v1/getCars shudders
  - danpalmer 11y ago
    That wouldn't make it REST either. It meets the REST constraints granted automatically through use of HTTP, and doesn't meet any more through its design.
  - woah 11y ago
    REST is a strange box to try to cram the world into.

onion2k 11y ago

You need lots of software engineering etc skills to run this kind of service smoothly. True, but customers can and do put up with a terrible product if they have a good reason. Look at things like Napster - that was an appalling product but it had millions of users because it did something people really wanted. In the case of an owner-operated Uber clone, that app could be much worse if people want to support a business owned by their local drivers more than they want the smoother service of Uber. I have no idea how many people are anti-Uber enough to support a rival whose tech is only, say, 70% as good as Uber, but I wouldn't be that surprised that it'd be enough to work in some regions.

HappyTypist 11y ago
It's not just tech skills at all. The network effect is particularly multiplied with Uber, as the feedback loop is far stronger: * The fewer drivers you have, the longer ETAs there are. * The longer ETAs there are, the less drivers earn. * The less drivers earn, the less drivers there are. * Rinse and repeat.
- amelius 11y ago
  But can't drivers be operating on multiple platforms at once?
  - HappyTypist 11y ago
    Technically yes, but some platforms increases the priority of drivers the longer they've been waiting. For someone operating on multiple platforms, they'll have to go offline when the other app gets a ping. This resets their priority, and really just results in a multi-operating driver getting 80-90% of their pings in the busiest app.