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The main reason Uber is flopping hard in Germany: http://www.taxi.eu/en/ http://www.taxi.eu/en/ It's been around since ca. 2011 and for the passenger side off

The main reason Uber is flopping hard in Germany: http://www.taxi.eu/en/ http://www.taxi.eu/en/ It's been around since ca. 2011 and for the passenger side offers the same ease-of-use as Uber does, but results in rides with real taxis along with all the protections, insurances and guarantees they involve. For no extra cost.

kuschku 11y ago
And this is what kills uber: Their only advantage in Germany is price. But they can only offer that advantage by breaking the rules. And breaking the rules in Germany is one of the most stupid things you can do, as people will end up refusing to use your service due to that.
- socialist_coder 11y ago
  And all the German rules make sense, right? None of the rules could possibly be inefficient or written decades ago for a system that has since evolved?
  - Mithaldu 11y ago
    I don't know that all of the german taxi rules make sense, but compared to what i've seen in the USA the german taxi system works amazingly well, leaves passengers well-protected and from talks with the drivers, them happy.
    - socialist_coder 11y ago
      Still pretty expensive though, IMO. I never use them here in Berlin unless I have to catch a 7 AM flight with my 2 kids. But of course a valid alternative exists here in Berlin (public transport), which is absent in the US. The taxis in Germany are definitely cleaner and more maintained. But man, I just wish there was some kind of cheaper option.
      - kuschku 11y ago
        Well, the cheaper option is a bike or public transit. Taxi costs are hard to get cheaper – Taxi drivers already get the cars for almost free, most of the costs are minimum wage and the 8$ per gallon gasoline. (Plus maintenance, inspections and insurance)
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  - TeMPOraL 11y ago
    Even if they're inefficient or written decades ago, you're not justified to break them. You don't get to ignore the rules just because you don't like them. This is now how society works. If you want to change them, use proper channels. Moreover, laws are not cat-sharing webapps. If you commit your rash change and break a build, there goes your afternoon. If you update the law this way, you will ruin many lives. "Move fast and break things" doesn't work for society, and actors who casually ignore the law should be punished severely.
philfrasty 11y ago
MyTaxi is a very popular option here, too (owned by Daimler). They regularly give you 50% off the ride (paid out of their own pocket).
amelius 11y ago
And I guess that is the reason they will eventually flop everywhere. Uber has no strong lock-in business model, so any other service can compete with them. By the way, I choked while reading this part of the Uber wikipedia page: > During the initial development of the Uber app, the company created a think tank consisting of a nuclear physicist, a computational neurosurgeon, and a machinery expert who worked on predicting demand for private hire car drivers and where demand is highest.
viscanti 11y ago
Actually it seems like black car regulations designed for protecting taxi. There's a law there that requires a driver to drive back to their "base" before picking up again. That means the Uber drivers often need to spend an extra hour of driving for each trip, where taxis don't. Regulations like that don't do anything for safety, they exist only to protect an entrenched industry. They aren't being beaten by competition, they're being beaten by suspect regulation.
- detaro 11y ago
  That's why Uber later tried to hire regular Taxi drivers. And yes, the regulations exist to protect the taxis from competition, but in turn taxis have rules they have to follow. E.g. they are not allowed to turn you down if they don't like where you are going, because they are considered part of the local transport infrastructure that has to be available. Since they have to take "bad" jobs, they get some protection from others taking only the profitable ones.
  - Mithaldu 11y ago
    That is very interesting to know, especially since i always ask taxi drivers if they're ok with taking me where i want to go. Aside from a simple "yes", the only other answer i've gotten so far was "i don't care, thanks to the phone apps i can get rides anywhere and will likely be able to get a passenger for at least part of the way back".

kuschku 11y ago

And this is what kills uber: Their only advantage in Germany is price. But they can only offer that advantage by breaking the rules. And breaking the rules in Germany is one of the most stupid things you can do, as people will end up refusing to use your service due to that.

socialist_coder 11y ago
And all the German rules make sense, right? None of the rules could possibly be inefficient or written decades ago for a system that has since evolved?
- Mithaldu 11y ago
  I don't know that all of the german taxi rules make sense, but compared to what i've seen in the USA the german taxi system works amazingly well, leaves passengers well-protected and from talks with the drivers, them happy.
  - socialist_coder 11y ago
    Still pretty expensive though, IMO. I never use them here in Berlin unless I have to catch a 7 AM flight with my 2 kids. But of course a valid alternative exists here in Berlin (public transport), which is absent in the US. The taxis in Germany are definitely cleaner and more maintained. But man, I just wish there was some kind of cheaper option.
    - kuschku 11y ago
      Well, the cheaper option is a bike or public transit. Taxi costs are hard to get cheaper – Taxi drivers already get the cars for almost free, most of the costs are minimum wage and the 8$ per gallon gasoline. (Plus maintenance, inspections and insurance)
- deleted 11y ago
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- deleted 11y ago
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- TeMPOraL 11y ago
  Even if they're inefficient or written decades ago, you're not justified to break them. You don't get to ignore the rules just because you don't like them. This is now how society works. If you want to change them, use proper channels. Moreover, laws are not cat-sharing webapps. If you commit your rash change and break a build, there goes your afternoon. If you update the law this way, you will ruin many lives. "Move fast and break things" doesn't work for society, and actors who casually ignore the law should be punished severely.

philfrasty 11y ago

MyTaxi is a very popular option here, too (owned by Daimler). They regularly give you 50% off the ride (paid out of their own pocket).

amelius 11y ago

And I guess that is the reason they will eventually flop everywhere. Uber has no strong lock-in business model, so any other service can compete with them. By the way, I choked while reading this part of the Uber wikipedia page: > During the initial development of the Uber app, the company created a think tank consisting of a nuclear physicist, a computational neurosurgeon, and a machinery expert who worked on predicting demand for private hire car drivers and where demand is highest.

viscanti 11y ago

Actually it seems like black car regulations designed for protecting taxi. There's a law there that requires a driver to drive back to their "base" before picking up again. That means the Uber drivers often need to spend an extra hour of driving for each trip, where taxis don't. Regulations like that don't do anything for safety, they exist only to protect an entrenched industry. They aren't being beaten by competition, they're being beaten by suspect regulation.

detaro 11y ago
That's why Uber later tried to hire regular Taxi drivers. And yes, the regulations exist to protect the taxis from competition, but in turn taxis have rules they have to follow. E.g. they are not allowed to turn you down if they don't like where you are going, because they are considered part of the local transport infrastructure that has to be available. Since they have to take "bad" jobs, they get some protection from others taking only the profitable ones.
- Mithaldu 11y ago
  That is very interesting to know, especially since i always ask taxi drivers if they're ok with taking me where i want to go. Aside from a simple "yes", the only other answer i've gotten so far was "i don't care, thanks to the phone apps i can get rides anywhere and will likely be able to get a passenger for at least part of the way back".