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LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft
- jasonlfunk 10y agoIt's definitely an interesting idea. Though one of the major features that I love about Uber/Lyft is that I don't have to worry about paying in cash.
- pmyjavec 10y agoBitCoin integration is on the way! I know what you mean, but the Bitcoin integration is going to be really exciting!!!
- daenney 10y agoThat's great, as long as they do it in a way that allows both me and the driver not to have to wait an hour before the transaction gets confirmed. So either someone needs to shoulder that risk or those micropayment platforms on top of Bitcoin need to start making some headway.
- darpa_escapee 10y agoIf there is one thing people love to be paid in, it is a collectible whose value widely varies daily based on when its larger holders game the system or when online drug markets get shutdown.
- thinkloop 10y agoIt's likely/possible for the drivers to be insulated from that with something like bitpay that auto-converts to currency.
- eriknstr 10y agoBut if you auto-convert to currency then what's the point of using bitcoin at all?
- dsernst 10y agoJust a guess— because it's easier for LibreTaxi to implement as a free open-source project, without needing to deal with IRS, banking, & other financial bureaucracy.
- darpa_escapee 10y agoBitcoin gatekeepers are slow and have delayed or altered conversions such that they profit due to fluctuations in Bitcoin value.
- bcook 10y agoI'm not completely sure whether you're referring to cash or Bitcoin.
- ralmeida 10y agoHow does cash vary in value? If you have a $50 bill, you can expect to buy a very predictable amount of food (for example) next week, regardless of what happens. Not so much if you have 0.0521 BTC.
- bcook 10y agoThere are plenty of cash currencies, aside from USD, that fluctuate wildly.
- ralmeida 10y agoThat's true, but most vary fluctuate wildly with respect to the USD, not in their purchasing power within their country of origin, even less so in the span of weeks or days. For example, if I was paid the equivalent of a 50 USD ride in Bitcoin in Jan 4, and were to go to buy food today, I could only buy 40 dollars worth of food. Which currency does that? Sure there may be a few examples in case of extreme inflation, etc, but it's not the norm at all.
- bcook 10y agoMy point is that both are flawed and have their uses. I won't be paying any bills with Bitcoin any time soon.
- darpa_escapee 10y agoCash is liquid whereas Bitcoin is a collectible that can't be used to pay all debts. My last two points about Bitcoin's instability do not apply to cash. Cash doesn't have a few slow gatekeepers that also game the system in their favor when you go to convert your cash into a more liquid form.
- madeofpalk 10y agoI hope that's sarcasm that I'm sensing.
- oelmekki 10y agoI came here to say just that. This probably will be the biggest challenge for this app. I see that it promises future bitcoin integration, which will be a challenge by itself to be accepted by drivers and users both. I guess app could partner with an instant bitcoin to fiat processor. Anyway, both a cool idea and a challenging one. Best wishes!
- tibu 10y agoI wouldn't want to deal with cash. That's always a pain and also insecure for both the driver and for the passenger. it should leverage some online payment (even sg. like Bitcoin)
- coffeedoughnuts 10y agoRe: Credit Card Integration Stripe doesn't really cost that much; you could support card payments and pass the stripe fees along to both parties (50/50 to the passenger and driver) This is a really good idea if it can take off, but I think cash only is a non-starter, though I understand the restriction initially
- timthelion 10y agoUnfortunately this isn't possible for a service like this. If money passes through the hands of the app-creator than they have to hire an accountant, take on risk, and file tax returns. Not possible with a non-comercial service.
- elmar 10y agothe app could use the strip account of the ride provider, the service provider would register their stripe account in the system.
- crdoconnor 10y agoTaxi cooperatives (of which there are a few) could use it though.
- colinbartlett 10y agoStripe Connect lets a marketplace invite providers to create an account and therefore Stripe handles a good portion of what you refer to.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- em3rgent0rdr 10y agoI've seen people with little portable credit card readers that connect with cellphone...surely that is something a driver could get themselves. Or could use paypal. Anyway, I think LibreTaxi should emphasise that they don't prohibit other forms of payment, provided that both the driver and passenger agree when accepting the ride. LibeTaxi simply doesn't "support" other payment options.
- martin-adams 10y agoInteresting idea. So does this skip on any verification that the person can drive and car is safe to be in?
- angry-hacker 10y agoWhat does uber or lyft do to take care of the safety?
- horsecaptin 10y agoProbably some kind of a criminal background check. A Driver history check. They also make sure that cars are new enough.
- docdeek 10y agoInteresting idea but not as convenient for someone who travels and doesn’t want to organize a cash withdrawal to leave the airport. With Uber I can just get going.
- zantosh 10y agoYou're right, Uber has introduced a type of convenience that you can't ignore. I launched RideConnect on PH yesterday, and it's a different, private take on Uber and Libretaxi. The big difference is that anyone can create their own rideshare for their community, customers or whatever group it is that needs a ride. We will be introducing a billing system in a few months at which time it can be used by Uber drivers to setup their own customer communities and give them rides directly. As for privacy, we put control in the hands of the riders to demand background checks, screening and additional validations from drivers. It's basic at the moment but we have a deal going that I'm expecting will make this totally awesome. Check it out on PH - https://www.producthunt.com/posts/rideconnect https://www.producthunt.com/posts/rideconnect
- lucb1e 10y ago> doesn’t want to organize a cash withdrawal You're not the first to mention this, but this is completely foreign to me. I'd love to get off of cash, but there are just so many places in Europe that are cash-only. The Netherlands is bad, but Germany is even worse. Lots of bakeries, fries stores, stands, etc. are cash-only; in restaurants big groups split and settle the bill with cash; and settling stuff between friends is often cash as well (though this is more and more bank transfer / wire transfer / whatever it's called to IBAN within SEPA). You're serious that "organizing a cash withdrawal" is 1) something you need to do in the first place and 2) it's a hassle or something? I also read about having a separate PIN for cash withdrawals (I had no idea a card could have two PINs).
- Dylan16807 10y agoGetting to a cash machine that won't charge you an arbitrarily large amount for the privilege is nontrivial for many people.
- reubensutton 10y agoMy concern with this is the problem of ensuring the safety of the person driving the cab and the real identity of the rider. Lots of drivers will be reluctant because they can be stiffed on the bill. Lots of passengers will be reluctant to use it due to the inherent risk of riding with what is essentially a stranger.
- timthelion 10y agoHow is it more dangerous for the driver than picking someone up on a streat corner?
- pikzel 10y agoBut that's not what Uber/Lyft does. And this is said to be an alternative to that.
- timthelion 10y agoAnd how do Uper/Lyft prevent ax murderers? http://www.whosdrivingyou.org/rideshare-incidents http://www.whosdrivingyou.org/rideshare-incidents
- blowski 10y agoThe same way society in general prevents it.
- timthelion 10y agoIn that case LibreTaxi should be just as safe, if Uber/Lyft don't have any tricks up their sleeves.
- djmobley 10y agoConsidering the number of drivers/riders these services have, and the number of rides completed, I'd say that's an impressively small list of -- in many cases alleged -- incidents. There's no way you could reasonably expect a rideshare service to eliminate all such incidents.
- sergiotapia 10y agoI would never use this or recommend it. Extremely unsafe. Any goon can create a "Taxi" account and do whatever he wants.
- fredley 10y agoI appreciate the concerns of the libre community when it comes to the world we're building: where you have to strongly identify yourself to do almost anything (hail a taxi, buy bread, use public transport, etc.), but taxis are a place where strong identification is good for both parties.
- laurent123456 10y agoAnd that will be taxi drivers going around with lots of cash in their pocket. Not at all an attractive target for criminals.
- feelix 10y agoI wonder if this issue could be helped with a good rating system
- fb03 10y agoyes an escrow system would definitely help. It'd need some initial 'trust seeding' tho, but if you're not too paranoid that's quite okay. Maybe one of the creators of the system knows someone or runs a car himself and he can initially start providing these initial "ok's" to the system.
- brangalina4eva 10y agoA rapist or mugger's dream. 'Middlemen' aren't always bogeymen.
- GrantSolar 10y ago>Start making money as a driver in one minute! No requirement for insurance either. I can see a big lawsuit approaching
- viach 10y agoIt is disrupting the disruptors.
- kkhire 10y agoThis is the height of stupidity. If you absolutely refuse to use any products built by C-suite execs that advise and/or support Trump, then go live as a hermit in the wilderness. edit: Uber/lyft are built by smart and motivated technologists who spend everyday making the most sophisticated ridesharing platforms out there. To use an unvetted and unsafe knockoff is inane.
- timthelion 10y agoI'd rather be a hermit. Edit: Unfortunately, its kinda hard to afford land out in the wilderness, given that you god damn capitalists have destroyed nature.
- throwanem 10y agoFOR SALE: One-room cabin, rural Montana. Lovely vistas, no neighbors. One previous owner. Great fixer-upper! Manual typewriter provided; must supply own explosives, packaging, target list, and postage.
- timthelion 10y agoNo neighbors? “The honest truth is that I am not really politically oriented. I would have really rather just be living out in the woods. If nobody had started cutting roads through there and cutting the trees down and come buzzing around in helicopters and snowmobiles I would still just be living there and the rest of the world could just take care of itself. I got involved in political issues because I was driven to it, so to speak. I’m not really inclined in that direction.” - https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/theresa-kintz-interview-with-ted-kaczynski https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/theresa-kintz-interv...
- jeremyboom8 10y agoTim, are you ok?
- 10y ago
- tehabe 10y agoI would love an app for calling and advising on regular unionised taxi service in any city.
- kiliankoe 10y agoCompletely disregarding the rest of the page/service/post I kinda dislike that Telegram is being touted as the most secure messenger out there. That's not even close to true. By default all that Telegram offers is transport security and afaik unaudited end-to-end encryption with their own protocol if two users choose to use it (and lock themselves into the platform they start that conversation on).
- tommorris 10y agoAlso having to have a phone number thing to set up an account sucks (same with Signal, WhatsApp etc.).
- anondon 10y ago> Based on Telegram app, most secured and fastest messenger in the world. Red flag right there.
- schlowmo 10y ago> most secured [...] messenger in the world That's indeed a very dubious claim, only the opt-in "Secret Chats" use end-to-end encryption. [0] [0] https://telegram.org/faq#q-so-how-do-you-encrypt-data https://telegram.org/faq#q-so-how-do-you-encrypt-data
- ycmbntrthrwaway 10y agoThe main reason secret chats are opt-in is that there is no key management built in so secret chats are not synchronized across devices. Also secret chats are not supported in the desktop yet.
- schlowmo 10y agoThat may or may not be true, but unfortunately many people think Telegram uses end-to-end encryption by default. This is why I keep posting the link to the FAQ ;).
- lucb1e 10y agoIt's just a Telegram bot, it's not "based on" Telegram's source code (which is what I assumed when reading your comment before opening the page). That's like saying Facebook is based on PHP and saying "that's a major red flag!"
- Dylan16807 10y agoYes? That would be a major red flag if it was being touted as a feature. Especially if you add in a claim of "the most secure and fast programming language".
- em3rgent0rdr 10y agoI hope that LibreTaxi could interface with different communication mechanisms...ideally Signal. Will Signal support a bot?
- eloisant 10y agoThere are actually taxi cooperative or call center that have their own app. But they're each limited to one city. What they need to do is get together to release a high-quality app that works all over the world by relying on the local taxi call center partner.
- buovjaga 10y agoExactly. Looking at platform co-ops, http://platformcoop.net/ http://platformcoop.net/ and various sources, I was confused by the lack of open source software.
- jagermo 10y agoMytaxi (mytaxi.com) is a popular taxi app in germany. Since they are using "real" taxis, they get around all the problems Uber and Lyft face.
- veli_joza 10y agoDrivr[1] is doing exactly that in few cities in Europe, they basically offer complete uber-in-a-box solution to local taxi operators. [1] http://drivr.com/ http://drivr.com/
- smacktoward 10y agoThey already did. https://gocurb.com/ https://gocurb.com/
- CodeWriter23 10y agoNo Rideshare Insurance? NO PROBLEM!
- CodeWriter23 10y agoIf you're in Los Angeles, I strongly recommend googling LAPD Bandit Cab Enforcement before using this app to give rides. Also, other cities may have similar enforcement operations.
- tom_mellior 10y agoWhy not just give a link if you know exactly what information you want to refer people to?
- CodeWriter23 10y agoI thought LMGTFY links were frowned upon around here.
- softawre 10y agoNope. See the discussion we had about this a couple months ago on HN.
- thinkloop 10y agoThings I like about rideshares: - no payment friction - easy gps integration - safety Things missing from this service: - see above
- jasode 10y ago>, pay cash upon arrival. Paying cash is a non-starter. I haven't been to a bank ATM in over 10 years. I don't even know what my card's secret PIN is to make a cash withdrawal. Being virtually cashless by using credit-cards for everything is very common in professional circles. A credit-card is simpler and the exact line-item amount showing up on my monthly statement helps me keep track of travel expenses. (Also, many credit cards transactions will download to the Quicken ledger for people that use that personal finance software.) Paying by credit also helps keep drivers accountable and reduces fraud.
- antocv 10y agoHere we have an alternative payment method https://byteball.org/ https://byteball.org/
- computerwizard 10y agoByteball is the future.
- antonioevans 10y agoThat is a first world problem. Majority of the the world does not have a credit card or real access to a card. Majority of world pays with cash. A statement like this is similar to when I see American abroad and shocked that places don't take Amex for purchases. It's a very first world thing to even own an Amex let alone use it for a small purchases below $50.
- jasode 10y ago>That is a first world problem. But owning a smartphone with a touch screen (instead of tin cans connected by a string) and having the luxury of choosing between Uber vs LibreTaxi (instead of waving your arms on the street to hail a taxi) is also a 1st world problem. If we're discussing percentage of world market, 51%+ do not have combined attributes of (1) smartphone ownership[1] + (2) Uber availability + (3) preference for paying cash. For customers, one of the key attractions to Uber is that drivers can't play the game of "oh sorry my credit card reader is broken, you'll have to pay cash". In other words, many customers deliberately choose Uber as way of not having to pay cash. (This point is more relevant in Uber-USA and not Uber-India that allows cash payment.) The developer name I see on the LibreTaxi page is "Roman Pushkin, San Francisco, California" and since he's based in a 1st-world location, it seems like the Uber-vs-LibreTaxi has relevance to cashless people like me. If he intends for the service to be used mostly by 3rd-world countries where cash is king, I misunderstood the point of the Uber vs LibreTaxi comparison. EDIT ADD 40-minutes later: I found author's comment on the intended market of customers: "Just started http://libretaxi.org http://libretaxi.org - uber alternative for communities and remote regions." : https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13328052 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13328052 also see: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13530355 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13530355: "Uber, a company evaluated at $60B, will unlikely go to remote Siberian region where I was born." Conclusion: LibreTaxi isn't really a competitor to Uber -- it's more of an alternative to remote villages having no ride sharing at all and therefore cash payments makes perfect sense for that market. [1]https://www.statista.com/statistics/203734/global-smartphone-penetration-per-capita-since-2005/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/203734/global-smartphone...
- espadrine 10y agoIn France, a somewhat similar effort is being built: https://le.taxi https://le.taxi. Except that it bootstraps its security on the existing vetting process for taxi companies.
- tom_mellior 10y ago... and on the existing mechanisms to ensure that the driver has insurance, does not cut prices in a race to the bottom that harms everybody, and does not cheat on taxes.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- bpierre 10y agoAbout the trust and reputation issue, I think blockchain technologies could play an important role for decentralized services like this. I would like to see a multipurpose reputation / trust system based on the blockchain, exposing all the needed features as a simple library and / or HTTP API, ready to be implemented by apps and websites. I think we are still in a period where a lot of products are built either in a centralized way, or all on the blockchain and decentralized technologies (like IPFS). It makes sense as we are still in the experimentation phase, but it could change in the near future. People could start using the blockchain where it is the most efficient today, as a brick part of a product (e.g. to build a solid decentralized reputation system), instead of being the foundation layer of the product.
- repomies691 10y agoI think most of this "blockchain talk" is just nonsense. Uber/lyft similar are very complex services, which are pretty pain in the ass to maintain and develop. What would be the incentive to develop such an app in decentralized fashion? What if there are problems between rider and driver, who will act as a middleman to resolve issues? What about basic support etc?
- ThomPete 10y agoCheaper prices for one thing.
- bpierre 10y ago> What would be the incentive to develop such an app in decentralized fashion? What if there are problems between rider and driver, who will act as a middleman to resolve issues? What about basic support etc? Sorry if I wasn’t clear enough, but I am precisely talking about this: using the blockchain for what it is good at today, instead of trying to put everything on a decentralized system (which is really hard or just impossible for now). Uber / Lyft and others have a reputation system in place, opaque and developed specifically for their product. It’s an important part, but it is just a brick in the complexity of the services they are building. I am talking about replacing this brick by an open, blockchain-based reputation service (that doesn’t exist AFAIK). That way, any app developer could benefit from the transparency and guaranteed properties from the blockchain. It could even be easier to use than to implement it as a private system.
- joe563323 10y agoThe Best thing about FSF is they never give up even when it seems like there is no chance of success at the present movement. True RMS spirit.
- exception_e 10y agoMight not be a bad idea to mark this as "beta" on the website and list some of the roadmap ideas being worked on: https://github.com/ro31337/libretaxi#technical-roadmap-unordered https://github.com/ro31337/libretaxi#technical-roadmap-unord... to ease public concerns. This is a _great_ idea, but it is really early on and needs a safety and open-source-friendly CC integration before being advertised in my opinion.
- yalogin 10y agoHow is this different from me remembering a bunch of cab phone numbers and calling them? What is this app doing?
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- bruceb 10y agoRideconnect.com, A way to create your own ride network was posted here a few days ago. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13502133 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13502133 All face chicken and egg problem but would be nice to explore uber alternatives
- miguelrochefort 10y agoWhy do we need a dedicated app for everything? Is it not time to build one app that can be used for everything, including ride sharing, food delivery and item listing?
- cyborgx7 10y agoYou mean like a webbrowser?
- miguelrochefort 10y agoNo I don't.
- softawre 10y agowhy do we need clocks, can't we just put a clock in everything else?
- Handwash 10y agoI don't like to bargain.
- sharemywin 10y agoMaybe allow taxis to pay for a background check. https://checkr.com/ https://checkr.com/ Also it would be easy enough to allow someone to send an invoice with their own payment options.
- spIrr 10y agoI'll post a comment from ProductHunt, which might give a bit more context to where the founder sees this going, and why cash rides make sense under certain circumstances he designed the app for: […] I have gone to the founder's blog and it provides a better understanding of where he sees it going: Uber (and similar apps) will never reach many remote villages, cities and regions around the world (and don't have to), but technology could greatly help the local communities in solving their transportation problems that are as "simple" as getting from point A to point B with no other feasible options available. For more details, here's the founder's blog on this: https://medium.com/@romanpushkin/how-i-made-uber-like-app-in-no-time-with-javascript-and-secret-sauce-94ef9120c7f6#.dc99pd5qm https://medium.com/@romanpushkin/how-i-made-uber-like-app-in...
- sah2ed 10y agoWas scratching my head why anyone would build an Uber clone but his explanation makes perfect sense. He is tackling a market that Uber might never enter -- rural areas.
- wahsd 10y agoI don't understand why they wouldn't enter those markets. Is there really some insurmountable hurdle to extending this mobile and internet based service? It makes no sense to me? Sure it would not be as quick because there would not be as many drivers, but there's no harm in just offering it for facilitation of ride sharing, is there? It is maybe that they just don't see the value of fighting small localities and their taxi mafias? Can someone shed some light on what might be hampering that.
- superquest 10y agoIf they're playing a long-tail game like this, would it make accepting credit card payments more difficult? Maybe that's why they don't handle payment? I know these Stripe-like APIs advertise that building one integration will allow you to send (to driver) and receive (from rider) money in many different currencies, but I have to believe it would be extremely tough to do. Support overhead alone would be large. Is this accurate? I also imagine that these more remote communities have more of a cash economy than urban communities, but this is a complete guess.
- mbostleman 10y agoCash only. That makes it practical for me about .01% of the time.
- CrLf 10y agoAt the first glance, this seems to be a way to bring the 3rd world taxi experience to the 21st century. Really, no taxi licenses, no requirements on cars, no driver verification, no GPS, paying cash... I feel safe already.
- ycmbntrthrwaway 10y ago> no taxi licenses Well, this one is arguably a good thing.
- dvfjsdhgfv 10y agoAm I the only one to see the irony of this? Uber and Lyft bring "disruption to the industry", then a new player enters and has the potential of disrupting their business model... Now, their only line of defense against LibreTaxi is to use the same rhetoric the Taxi companies had been using against them.
- TulliusCicero 10y agoTheir real defense is having a better product. I have a difficult time seeing LibreTaxi take off; at least in developed countries, I doubt people want to negotiate prices with drivers ahead of time and then pay cash.
- mattspitz 10y ago<Insert gratuitous joke about LibreTaxi vs. GratisTaxi here>
- awinter-py 10y agofree as in ...
- xrjn 10y agoI'm surprised no one mentioned Arcade City[0], which is working on a peer to peer alternative to Uber and Lift, using a blockchain. Drivers set their own prices, and there are no georestrictions like on Uber. [0] https://arcade.city/ https://arcade.city/
- rkeene2 10y agoThis service apparently requires a facebook.com account.
- anonbanker 10y agoArcade City also has a (amazing) gamified system, based on reputation levels. This has saved the bacon of Austin TX drivers on more than one occasion, as non-reputable "customers" have more difficulty ruining the system.
- spectrum1234 10y agoSounds great but the advantage the main guys have is the network effect, a large fleet. The fact that this is free suggests no marketing budget and therefore less drivers and passengers, both which depend on each other to grow.
- omouse 10y agoThat's not really an advantage. Cab companies are location specific, the network effect is limited by the number of taxi medallions handed out. It's also a good starting point for local companies to be the Uber or Lyft of their city. For example in Toronto, Hailo doesn't exist and Lyft doesn't operate here either. It would be awesome if a company could just pick up LibreTaxi, pour in some $$$ for marketing and sales and start it up for Toronto.
- Steeeve 10y agoInstall link doesn't work, and it doesn't show up on the play store.
- floatboth 10y ago"Get hired instantly" doesn't sound good…
- gragas 10y agoThe address shown on the phone is the address of a fantastic breakfast place in Potrero Hill. I'd recommend it to anyone.
- creeble 10y agoInteresting, (I think) this is exactly the kind of app/service I was talking about with a taxi driver in Tahoe a month ago. It's a rural area with several small taxi companies, but none offer real-time info or the convenience of a single app to use to call a taxi.
- creeble 10y agoWait, oops - no GPS tracking? Um, that's the killer feature that makes Uber Uber. It's taxis with GPS.
- Endy 10y agoHow will they deal with the issues of ADA compliance, ensuring that the drivers and vehicles are safe, and compliance with local T&LC regulations like medallions, etc?
- adultSwim 10y agoTaxi companies need to band together now. They finally have apps but each one has their own. They will keep getting crushed until they share dispatching.
- kylebenzle 10y agoBitcoin finally making new applications possible!
- jstejada 10y agoIf becoming a driver is so easy, what about security for passengers? I'm from a city that has been known to be "dangerous", and the main reason I use Uber there over taxis is for security. How does LibreTaxi prevent bad actors from becoming drivers?
- anigbrowl 10y agoIt doesn't. That's one of the differences between a platform and a service. When I deal with someone from Craigslist I can't really know in advance if the person is legit, but I can be prepared for the possibility that they aren't. I don't think you'll be waiting long for the option for people to flag shady drivers.
- fenwick67 10y agoUber is not inherently safer than a taxi. Why do people always say this?
- hehheh 10y agoIt's not inherently safer but Uber does do things that most taxi companies don't that help improve safety, albeit slightly. Really basic things like providing the user with a photo of the driver and a description of the car including license plate so the user can be sure (well, more sure) that the car that arrived is the car they requested. As far as I'm aware (in my experience) the only way you can compare the taxi driver's face to their license is by getting in to the back of the car, where the license photo is visible.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- jacamat 10y agoI never carry cash. Why not just integrate Stripe for debit/credit card transactions? Or literally anything.
- anigbrowl 10y agoThey're working on Bitcoin integration. Cash is legal tender for all debts so it's the obvious place to start, plus people who may not want their activities tracked too closely may be safer with cash. Besides, you can't hand someone a suitcase full of electronic money. I mean you can duct tape a black card into the suitcase or something but it just isn't the same. Do your part to save the attache case industry.
- homulilly 10y agoUsing this looks like a great way to end up stuffed into a suitcase in the bottom of a lake. Part of the appeal of Uber or Lyft is that they ostensibly conduct background checks of some sort to weed out the psychopaths.
- insulinrocks 10y agoThis was my first thought. 1 minute driver hiring sounds like something a serial murderer would love.
- gmisra 10y agoIf app-fication of ride hailing is what you want, it's worth mentioning that in the SF bay area, Flywheel has done an excellent job of making a feature-rich app and network [0]. Personally, I have found it to be an excellent service, the things that matter the most to me are availability of rides, timeliness of driver dispatch and arrival, and communication with drivers (when necessary). [0] http://www.flywheel.com/passenger-app http://www.flywheel.com/passenger-app
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- Kalium 10y agoI've used Flywheel! Without being excessively negative, the experience showed me that Uber and Lyft deliver value beyond the simple A-to-B transportation service.
- cyber_mango 10y agoYet another idea I wish I have gone through with
- cyber_mango 10y agoAlso, Saint IGNUcius must be very proud !
- em3rgent0rdr 10y agowith #DeleteUber trending, I think now would be a great time to promote this, but I think needs the following: (1) ought to use a fully open-source messaging backend instead of Telegram (closed server). Would be great if could interface to the Telegram bot with a variety of messaging systems. (2) needs to work without a dataplan if to be viable in rural areas (Silence, the SMS-fork of Signal) (3) needs to easily accept a variety of payment mechanisms, including credit cards, PayPal(s), and crypto-currency, so can interface with people who don't use cash. (4) needs to have a distributed p2p reputation system (hello blockchain).
- em3rgent0rdr 10y agoclarification: after testing out the app, it seems clear that passenger and driver could agree on any mutually-agreeable payment method. But it would be nice to have something integrated.
- kixiQu 10y agoIt could have great potential, and I see the virtue of this kind of thing globally, but my first thought was "This seems like a great way to get murdered." Maybe that's a gender thing?
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- namlem 10y agoI don't think this is the right approach. IMO, what we need a platform for regional driver co-ops. You obviously wouldn't have the consistency of Uber and Lyft, but the service would take only a tiny cut since they don't have to provide anything other than the app. When you want to hail a car, you'd be able to choose from any local services, which are responsible for the vetting and insurance of drivers. It has its flaws, obviously, but such driver co-ops already exist in some places, so I think it could work.
- Kalium 10y agoIt's possible that consistency may be a large part of the value proposition of Uber or Lyft. I can go across the country and get a ride with a company I have some level of trust in. Regional co-ops do what taxi companies did, forcing me to re-evaluate everything all over again in every new place.
- bogomipz 10y agoWhere's the consistency in getting into a stranger's car every time you use a service? The consistency would be the app? Often Uber drivers also drive for Lyft and vice versa. If the same drivers also embrace Libre Taxi I fail to see any fundamental difference in the experience.
- Kalium 10y agoConsistency in which app to use, the experience in using it, payment handling, insurance, customer service, and driver vetting. All of these offer value individually and in their consistency across locations. You're right! It's absolutely possible that every driver may embrace Libre Taxi. In which case there would be no advantage whatsoever in terms of consistency.
- pitaa 10y agoDefinitely true. My parents recently went on vacation to a US city that isn't exactly the safest (IMO). Their hotel didn't offer an airport shuttle, and they've been burned by taxi drivers in the past. I explained the concept of uber to them, installed the app on their phone, and told them to press the button when they wanted someone to pick them up and the ride would automatically be billed to their credit card. When they returned they told me how "nice all the drivers were" and how they weren't going to pay for shuttles ever again. There's no way I would have given them the app for some local taxi co-op, but uber I trust enough to assume its generally reliable in any US city.
- dmitrygr 10y ago> No vehicle restrictions. uuuh.... no thanks?
- jijji 10y agothis thing isnt ready for primetime...
- Yan_Coutinho 10y agoI thought it was created by the same guys whi created LibreOffice
- fataliss 10y agoI guess you need to think about this more as a monetized version of hitchhiking than a free Uber/Lyft. Cause in terms of liability there is about 0 coverage. You can't even know if the driver is insured at all. While I love the idea of the app and it's openness, I am not sure there would be a market/use for it where Uber/Lyft is available.
- dorianm 10y agoIt's very similar to what Blablacar was before it received VC funding. And in France we have https://covoiturage-libre.fr/ https://covoiturage-libre.fr/ too
- mrmondo 10y agoI like the idea, but the idea of having to carry and use cash is enough to put me off completely.
- hobarrera 10y agoThe "install" link forwards to some obscure URL that simply won't work on normal browsers: tg://resolve?domain=libretaxi_bot
- partycoder 10y agoI wonder why kue. kue is a queuing system built on top of redis. Why not something like zmq, RabbitMQ, Kafka, etc.
- pugworthy 10y agoI guess the days of names like, "iTaxi" and "Taxer" are gone. How long until all the "Libre" names are passe I wonder?
- icemelt8 10y agoUber and Careem are banned in Karachi, a city of 20 million. This seems like a life saver.
- novorool 10y agoReally great tool, nice job!
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- TeeWEE 10y agoThis wont work. Taxidrivers often dont speak your language, and always try to get high prices by being not so friendly. Uber/Lyft solves this problem.
- hwestiii 10y agoNice to see. Uber, Lyft, et al have always seemed like exactly the wrong solution here. The availability of the vehicle and the demand for it are inherently local phenomnena, so why should some arbitrary company who knows where be the major broker for dealing with this issue worldwide? I understand network effects, etc., but it seems that localized brokerage would serve all parties the best.
- tekknik 10y agoOne massive benefit is increased resources for vetting drivers. How is my safety both ensured and insured with LibreTaxi?
- thomasfl 10y agoThis should have been implemented as a Facebook Messenger Bot.
- hd4 10y agoThis is an absolutely brilliant idea, especially love how they're building on Redis, Firebase and Telegram (regardless of whether you think it's secure or not, that's hardly the point here), reinventing the wheel is what our industry needs to stop doing, this may be the best example of "Standing on the shoulders of giants" technology I've seen yet.
- UweSchmidt 10y agoCutting out the middle man - that's what an internet business is supposed to do!
- jonthepirate 10y agoIt is written in Javascript.
- dotchev 10y agoThis is a great fit for IPFS so you don't need central infrastructure
- Sami_Lehtinen 10y agoIn Helsinki Finland we had Kutsuplus, which was basically a shared minibus taxi. It lasted five years and had to be subsidized heavily. It was about 50% cheaper than Taxi. Yet of course also slower. https://www.wired.com/2013/10/on-demand-public-transit/ https://www.wired.com/2013/10/on-demand-public-transit/
- daveheq 10y agoSounds like a great way to get robbed... Drivers only take cash, robber decides to rob driver of all cash. Transactoons need to happen through the phone, not cash.