16 ms·

One thing I'd like to know (and I am sure someone has answered this somewhere) is the amount of people using Uber in their own town vs. people who travel and us

by gist 10y ago

One thing I'd like to know (and I am sure someone has answered this somewhere) is the amount of people using Uber in their own town vs. people who travel and use Uber. If in their own town, it seems entirely possible for a local strong competitor to offer a better product or service. For travelers that is less of a risk since you go with the brand you know (which traditionally has been a taxi cab). In particular some markets are so large that it would be a juicy target to attack just the one geographic area regardless of whether you planned to compete elsewhere (NYC for example). Now of course someone could argue that this could have happened to opentable and it hasn't. But that is a much harder thing to knock off with the tie in to reservation systems.

CPLX 10y ago
In my experience this is actually happening. For example many of my friends are now using Dial-7 to get to and from the airport these days for business trips. It's just more predictable than wondering if there will be surge pricing when you need to leave, they actually are slightly cheaper, and you know what you're going to get. Uber's user experience has a lot going for it but it's very, very far from flawless or unbeatable as a product.
- nilkn 10y ago
  For getting to/from the airport in my own city, I still use the old limo driver that I was using before Uber took off. Literally the same guy, not just the same service/company. When friends or family members fly down to visit I sometimes book him for them as well. It's about the same price as Uber (I voluntarily pay more because I tip him generously), but it's a 100% guaranteed fantastic experience. With Uber, you never know who your driver is going to be. I've had some pretty bad ones and some pretty unfriendly ones who made me or someone with me feel uncomfortable.
  - morgante 10y ago
    Normal people don't take limos to the airport.
    - _acme 10y ago
      "limo" may be a reference to what is sometimes called a black car -- a scheduled livery service -- and not what we generally think of as a large limousine. Still, though, most people don't use those either.
    - paulcole 10y ago
      Limo can just mean black Town Car.
    - nilkn 10y ago
      They do. A "limo" is just a towncar. It's no different from something like UberBlack. Go to any major airport and you'll see a bunch of them lined up waiting for passengers nearby the taxis. I started using this service before Uber because taxis were extraordinarily unreliable and this service was always spot on. And as time has went on I see no reason to switch to Uber for this particular well-defined and scheduled-in-advance ride.
      - morgante 10y ago
        I think you view of the world is rather skewed if you think "normal" people take a town car to the airport. Even as a well-paid software engineer, I never use UberBlack—only UberX.
        nilkn 10y ago
        I just looked up a fare estimate and UberBlack is about twice as expensive as what I pay. So I suspect you're just as abnormal as me if you pay anyone at all to drive you to the airport instead of driving yourself. That actually drives home my point of not using Uber in this case. Why bother when I'm getting the same service for 50% of the cost with someone I know, trust, and have actually become friends with?
        morgante 10y ago
        If UberBlack is 2x the price you pay, what you pay is close to 2x what UberX costs (depending on the market). It's fairly normal to take a taxi to the airport (particularly at your destination), but paying 2x the cost of a taxi for a private car service is definitely "luxury."
  - Myrmornis 10y ago
    No normal ( :) ) person cares about getting a fantastic experience when taking a taxi. They just want to get from A to B reliably and safely and without messing about with tipping.
    - nilkn 10y ago
      Geez, yes, they absolutely do care. That's the entire reason why Uber took off to begin with. Taxis suck and entirely normal people hated them because of that. "Normal" people are going to get upset when they need to be at the airport and their taxi that they called 30 minutes ago is still not there, so they call again and are informed that there are no taxis available in the area, then call again and suddenly one is right around the corner, but the driver's in a bad mood, demands a big tip, and berates you if you don't want to use cash. That was my typical experience with taxis before Uber, and that's why almost everyone I knew avoided them at all costs. It's also why I started taking a towncar to the airport instead -- because they were actually capable of being on-time and were only barely more expensive. Now almost everyone I know uses Uber at least occasionally and many use it quite a lot.
      - Myrmornis 10y ago
        We're mis-communicating, sorry. I agree with you. I really like Uber, hate old taxis for the reasons you say, and don't like Lyft because they force me to think about tipping and I think tipping is a nasty way to give everyone people a little moment of power where they can judge someone else's monetary worth. By fantastic experience I meant bottled water and stuff. It seems that we agree that the main things are: reliable, easy to book, no messing about with money or tips.
pbreit 10y ago
My guess would be 90-95% locals in most/all towns.

by gist 10y ago

CPLX 10y ago

In my experience this is actually happening. For example many of my friends are now using Dial-7 to get to and from the airport these days for business trips. It's just more predictable than wondering if there will be surge pricing when you need to leave, they actually are slightly cheaper, and you know what you're going to get. Uber's user experience has a lot going for it but it's very, very far from flawless or unbeatable as a product.

nilkn 10y ago
For getting to/from the airport in my own city, I still use the old limo driver that I was using before Uber took off. Literally the same guy, not just the same service/company. When friends or family members fly down to visit I sometimes book him for them as well. It's about the same price as Uber (I voluntarily pay more because I tip him generously), but it's a 100% guaranteed fantastic experience. With Uber, you never know who your driver is going to be. I've had some pretty bad ones and some pretty unfriendly ones who made me or someone with me feel uncomfortable.
- morgante 10y ago
  Normal people don't take limos to the airport.
  - _acme 10y ago
    "limo" may be a reference to what is sometimes called a black car -- a scheduled livery service -- and not what we generally think of as a large limousine. Still, though, most people don't use those either.
  - paulcole 10y ago
    Limo can just mean black Town Car.
  - nilkn 10y ago
    They do. A "limo" is just a towncar. It's no different from something like UberBlack. Go to any major airport and you'll see a bunch of them lined up waiting for passengers nearby the taxis. I started using this service before Uber because taxis were extraordinarily unreliable and this service was always spot on. And as time has went on I see no reason to switch to Uber for this particular well-defined and scheduled-in-advance ride.
    - morgante 10y ago
      I think you view of the world is rather skewed if you think "normal" people take a town car to the airport. Even as a well-paid software engineer, I never use UberBlack—only UberX.
      - nilkn 10y ago
        I just looked up a fare estimate and UberBlack is about twice as expensive as what I pay. So I suspect you're just as abnormal as me if you pay anyone at all to drive you to the airport instead of driving yourself. That actually drives home my point of not using Uber in this case. Why bother when I'm getting the same service for 50% of the cost with someone I know, trust, and have actually become friends with?
        morgante 10y ago
        If UberBlack is 2x the price you pay, what you pay is close to 2x what UberX costs (depending on the market). It's fairly normal to take a taxi to the airport (particularly at your destination), but paying 2x the cost of a taxi for a private car service is definitely "luxury."
- Myrmornis 10y ago
  No normal ( :) ) person cares about getting a fantastic experience when taking a taxi. They just want to get from A to B reliably and safely and without messing about with tipping.
  - nilkn 10y ago
    Geez, yes, they absolutely do care. That's the entire reason why Uber took off to begin with. Taxis suck and entirely normal people hated them because of that. "Normal" people are going to get upset when they need to be at the airport and their taxi that they called 30 minutes ago is still not there, so they call again and are informed that there are no taxis available in the area, then call again and suddenly one is right around the corner, but the driver's in a bad mood, demands a big tip, and berates you if you don't want to use cash. That was my typical experience with taxis before Uber, and that's why almost everyone I knew avoided them at all costs. It's also why I started taking a towncar to the airport instead -- because they were actually capable of being on-time and were only barely more expensive. Now almost everyone I know uses Uber at least occasionally and many use it quite a lot.
    - Myrmornis 10y ago
      We're mis-communicating, sorry. I agree with you. I really like Uber, hate old taxis for the reasons you say, and don't like Lyft because they force me to think about tipping and I think tipping is a nasty way to give everyone people a little moment of power where they can judge someone else's monetary worth. By fantastic experience I meant bottled water and stuff. It seems that we agree that the main things are: reliable, easy to book, no messing about with money or tips.

pbreit 10y ago

My guess would be 90-95% locals in most/all towns.