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Is there anyone pursuing the lowest cost per mile ride share strategy? Things like choosing a common car type, low fuel cost, centralized servicing, etc (i.e. T

Is there anyone pursuing the lowest cost per mile ride share strategy? Things like choosing a common car type, low fuel cost, centralized servicing, etc (i.e. Taxi) combined with the improved customer service and security that Uber and Lyft offer? One would think it would be a winner.

astrange 10y ago
That would literally be a taxi app, so Flywheel. (Haven't tried it.) Literal ride sharing like UberPool is the only actual cost advantage of apps over taxis, and if you picked the right vehicles for that you'd have a kind of bus/jitney system. Sounds good to me.
- CalRobert 10y ago
  It's long forgotten, but literal ride sharing is how Lyft got started. They were called Zimride at the time, and it connected people genuinely going places (a bit like craigslist ride shares) who wanted others to chip in towards expenses. Lyft was released as an app to make finding a ride on Zimride easier, and quickly eclipsed Zimride.
dx034 10y ago
Labour costs are much more important here. Utilizing an older car to 90% is cheaper than utilizing a new car with only 60%. That's where the advantage of larger players with good technology and data analysis lies, as they'll know when and where cars are needed. Still, uber doesn't even pay when drivers don't have a ride, and they still lose a lot. I don't think you can be any cheaper than the subsidized Uber. And I don't think you can save much regarding servicing. You already get very good prices with a few cars, or just with one if you carefully choose the garage. There is not much discount that you could get. Most costs will be gasoline, where discounts even for huge amounts are very small. So small that I know of several very large fleet operators in Europe which abandoned their own gas stations and instead had a contract with some gas stations to get a minor discount there.
Dwolb 10y ago
Via in Chicago seems to be the Southwest of ride sharing. Via is like Uber Pool, but more direct. While waiting, you only have less than a minute to hop in the car. Also the car only goes down major thoroughfares and moves only forward while in the car. This has the effect of lowering cost per mile because the biggest input cost (labor) is reduced. To me Via is more of a private, optimized bus system and an example of what Uber Pool could have been. Where I am Uber Pool is so hit or miss (really awesome because no one else gets in or awful because we crossed a major traffic intersection and have to back track two busy blocks to pick up a new passenger) that I avoid it.
ben_mann 10y ago
Waze.com/carpool

astrange 10y ago

That would literally be a taxi app, so Flywheel. (Haven't tried it.) Literal ride sharing like UberPool is the only actual cost advantage of apps over taxis, and if you picked the right vehicles for that you'd have a kind of bus/jitney system. Sounds good to me.

CalRobert 10y ago
It's long forgotten, but literal ride sharing is how Lyft got started. They were called Zimride at the time, and it connected people genuinely going places (a bit like craigslist ride shares) who wanted others to chip in towards expenses. Lyft was released as an app to make finding a ride on Zimride easier, and quickly eclipsed Zimride.

dx034 10y ago

Labour costs are much more important here. Utilizing an older car to 90% is cheaper than utilizing a new car with only 60%. That's where the advantage of larger players with good technology and data analysis lies, as they'll know when and where cars are needed. Still, uber doesn't even pay when drivers don't have a ride, and they still lose a lot. I don't think you can be any cheaper than the subsidized Uber. And I don't think you can save much regarding servicing. You already get very good prices with a few cars, or just with one if you carefully choose the garage. There is not much discount that you could get. Most costs will be gasoline, where discounts even for huge amounts are very small. So small that I know of several very large fleet operators in Europe which abandoned their own gas stations and instead had a contract with some gas stations to get a minor discount there.

Dwolb 10y ago

Via in Chicago seems to be the Southwest of ride sharing. Via is like Uber Pool, but more direct. While waiting, you only have less than a minute to hop in the car. Also the car only goes down major thoroughfares and moves only forward while in the car. This has the effect of lowering cost per mile because the biggest input cost (labor) is reduced. To me Via is more of a private, optimized bus system and an example of what Uber Pool could have been. Where I am Uber Pool is so hit or miss (really awesome because no one else gets in or awful because we crossed a major traffic intersection and have to back track two busy blocks to pick up a new passenger) that I avoid it.

ben_mann 10y ago

Waze.com/carpool