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You're overcomplicating the issue - a lot. The important thing is that the ride sharing systems provide APIs that show the time and the price, to allow users to
by ant6n 9y ago
You're overcomplicating the issue - a lot. The important thing is that the ride sharing systems provide APIs that show the time and the price, to allow users to compare. The next step is that the service providers and apps can work together on payment, which is really the complicated part. Following the booked cars in real time is simple in comparison.
Not having some API standard is usually how it's done with many services nowadays, and the market/comparison apps have to integrate multiple APIs. Big deal.
- haswell 9y agoGuess we just have to agree to disagree. API design matters. A lot. "As long as they provide some API" doesn't really cut it if you want a system that functions well. Having spent close to 10 years of my career gluing systems together through APIs, I've encountered too many "Oh we have an API!" vendors only to find out how horrible that API is. The consumer facing product is often a direct reflection of the underlying APIs powering it. If you have many APIs powering it, the app will take on all of the negatives of the sum of those APIs. Good app design can help smooth over the rough edges, but that only goes so far. Again, I should reiterate: I'm not arguing that it can't be done or that it's not possible. I'm arguing that the result will be subpar. Let's remember that the parent discussion is about the creation of a system that rivals the Uber/Lyft experience. If you want to do that, someone (probably someone big like Google as suggested in another comment) is going to have to influence the design of these APIs so the end user experience is a consistent/good one.