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How is Uber socializing the costs? Uber is directly providing Uber drivers with knowledge of the area (via maps), and requires maintenance of cars. Assuming I

How is Uber socializing the costs? Uber is directly providing Uber drivers with knowledge of the area (via maps), and requires maintenance of cars. Assuming I take an Uber, exactly what costs are paid for by someone other than myself, the driver and Uber?

TeMPOraL 10y ago
> Uber is directly providing Uber drivers with knowledge of the area (via maps) It's not Uber who's providing the knowledge, but Google or whatever (freely available) mapping backend the drivers / Uber App use. > requires maintenance of cars Do they require it, or do they "require" it like proper insurance? > Assuming I take an Uber, exactly what costs are paid for by someone other than myself, the driver and Uber? The risk of uninsured driver getting himself (and you) in an accident in an improperly maintained car. Secondary costs of disruption (the negative kind) of transportation market due to one player outcompeting other by acting illegally and getting away with it. Destruction of provisions for those "worse off" in said market - i.e. it's fine if you're young and live in the middle of the city, but try getting an Uber as a grandma living on the outskirts. Drivers will refuse such unprofitable rides. Weakening of social trust in rule of law as a successful business keeps being successful by ignoring the law and attracts copycat (you could say the authorities are to blame for not reacting swiftly enough, but then again you need a criminal doing crime to show inadequacy of the law).
- GauntletWizard 10y ago
  Full disclosure: I just accepted a job offer from Uber. Uber pays a significant amount of licensing fees to Google for use of it's data. Further - Why would making use of a freely available mapping backend be 'socializing the cost' in a way that is unfair competition to taxis? Taxis refuse unprofitable rides. Uber hides your destination until the driver picks you up, and keeps track of drivers that cancel. Ever tried to get a taxi in the slums? Wasn't possible before Uber. Ever try to get a taxi as a black man? Was pretty hard. Uber is imperfect, and your questions of how good their insurance is are valid, but everything else you've pointed out is a problem that the Taxis had, generally worse, not one that is new to uber.
- mnx 10y ago
  > Secondary costs of disruption (the negative kind) of transportation market due to one player outcompeting other by acting illegally and getting away with it. This is circular logic. Your only argument seems to be that uber may not actually require insurance. That may be true, but it's also easy to fix. >try getting an Uber as a grandma living on the outskirts Where I live (Warsaw), they just introduced a "leaving the city" fee, which means the drivers are incentivised to take those trips. And it still probably comes out about as much as a taxi.
- blfr 10y ago
  The risk of uninsured driver getting himself (and you) in an accident in an improperly maintained car. This should be addressed regardless of Uber's existence. In Poland we have an Insurance Guarantee Fund (Ubezpieczeniowy Fundusz Gwarancyjny[1]), an institution which pays out judgements to people harmed by drivers without proper insurance. [1] https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubezpieczeniowy_Fundusz_Gwarancyjny https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubezpieczeniowy_Fundusz_Gwaran...
- yummyfajitas 10y ago
  It's not Uber who's providing the knowledge, but Google or whatever (freely available) mapping backend the drivers / Uber App use. Yes, Uber does pay other third parties for services. That's not socializing the costs. Similarly, a bar paying Kingfisher to manufacture beer is not "socializing the costs" of providing me with entertainment. Do they require it, or do they "require" it like proper insurance? I've only used Uber across 3 separate continents, but I've never rode a poorly maintained Uber. Also, even if they didn't, this isn't "socializing the costs". The cost of poor maintenance is born by the driver and the passenger. Destruction of provisions for those "worse off" in said market - i.e. it's fine if you're young and live in the middle of the city, but try getting an Uber as a grandma living on the outskirts. That's not "socializing the costs". At most, that's privatizing something that you would prefer to be surreptitiously socialized. Also, Uber makes it easier rather than harder for said Grandma to get a ride. As for "Weakening of social trust in rule of law", many things do this. For example, black Americans and others violating unjust laws as part of civil disobedience has the same effect. Is protecting respect for the law truly an important value when the underlying law is unjust?

TeMPOraL 10y ago

> Uber is directly providing Uber drivers with knowledge of the area (via maps) It's not Uber who's providing the knowledge, but Google or whatever (freely available) mapping backend the drivers / Uber App use. > requires maintenance of cars Do they require it, or do they "require" it like proper insurance? > Assuming I take an Uber, exactly what costs are paid for by someone other than myself, the driver and Uber? The risk of uninsured driver getting himself (and you) in an accident in an improperly maintained car. Secondary costs of disruption (the negative kind) of transportation market due to one player outcompeting other by acting illegally and getting away with it. Destruction of provisions for those "worse off" in said market - i.e. it's fine if you're young and live in the middle of the city, but try getting an Uber as a grandma living on the outskirts. Drivers will refuse such unprofitable rides. Weakening of social trust in rule of law as a successful business keeps being successful by ignoring the law and attracts copycat (you could say the authorities are to blame for not reacting swiftly enough, but then again you need a criminal doing crime to show inadequacy of the law).

GauntletWizard 10y ago
Full disclosure: I just accepted a job offer from Uber. Uber pays a significant amount of licensing fees to Google for use of it's data. Further - Why would making use of a freely available mapping backend be 'socializing the cost' in a way that is unfair competition to taxis? Taxis refuse unprofitable rides. Uber hides your destination until the driver picks you up, and keeps track of drivers that cancel. Ever tried to get a taxi in the slums? Wasn't possible before Uber. Ever try to get a taxi as a black man? Was pretty hard. Uber is imperfect, and your questions of how good their insurance is are valid, but everything else you've pointed out is a problem that the Taxis had, generally worse, not one that is new to uber.
mnx 10y ago
> Secondary costs of disruption (the negative kind) of transportation market due to one player outcompeting other by acting illegally and getting away with it. This is circular logic. Your only argument seems to be that uber may not actually require insurance. That may be true, but it's also easy to fix. >try getting an Uber as a grandma living on the outskirts Where I live (Warsaw), they just introduced a "leaving the city" fee, which means the drivers are incentivised to take those trips. And it still probably comes out about as much as a taxi.
blfr 10y ago
The risk of uninsured driver getting himself (and you) in an accident in an improperly maintained car. This should be addressed regardless of Uber's existence. In Poland we have an Insurance Guarantee Fund (Ubezpieczeniowy Fundusz Gwarancyjny[1]), an institution which pays out judgements to people harmed by drivers without proper insurance. [1] https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubezpieczeniowy_Fundusz_Gwarancyjny https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubezpieczeniowy_Fundusz_Gwaran...
yummyfajitas 10y ago
It's not Uber who's providing the knowledge, but Google or whatever (freely available) mapping backend the drivers / Uber App use. Yes, Uber does pay other third parties for services. That's not socializing the costs. Similarly, a bar paying Kingfisher to manufacture beer is not "socializing the costs" of providing me with entertainment. Do they require it, or do they "require" it like proper insurance? I've only used Uber across 3 separate continents, but I've never rode a poorly maintained Uber. Also, even if they didn't, this isn't "socializing the costs". The cost of poor maintenance is born by the driver and the passenger. Destruction of provisions for those "worse off" in said market - i.e. it's fine if you're young and live in the middle of the city, but try getting an Uber as a grandma living on the outskirts. That's not "socializing the costs". At most, that's privatizing something that you would prefer to be surreptitiously socialized. Also, Uber makes it easier rather than harder for said Grandma to get a ride. As for "Weakening of social trust in rule of law", many things do this. For example, black Americans and others violating unjust laws as part of civil disobedience has the same effect. Is protecting respect for the law truly an important value when the underlying law is unjust?