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The first guy to log back in (or the guy who doesn't log off at all) wins the game to the detriment of the others, limiting the extent of this practice. You ca

by aianus 9y ago

The first guy to log back in (or the guy who doesn't log off at all) wins the game to the detriment of the others, limiting the extent of this practice. You can't have a successful oligopoly when there's no barrier to entry.

alextheparrot 9y ago
The post seems to make clear that once the surge pricing becomes active more than on person can capture customers at that price level, meaning their earnings are likely higher by doing this.
CodeWriter23 9y ago
It takes more than one ride dispatch to quell the surge. I've watched bar/club closings stay in surge for 30 minutes while cars stream in to pick up riders. I personally have given 5 surge rides in a row, albeit short rides, just by picking up at a particular hot spot, getting a local, drop them off, go offline, return to hot spot, wash, rinse, repeat.
- frandroid 9y ago
  > go offline So you're priming the surge pump, so to speak, since you know where the ride requests will be anyway.
  - CodeWriter23 9y ago
    Actually it's the opposite. When I drop off outside of the surge zone and go back to that zone to make a pickup inside, that helps quell the surge in that hot spot. I've never noticed surging in the neighborhoods I just left when I go back online. If I stayed online in the neighborhoods, I would likely get dispatched around the drop off point, prolonging the surge at the bar.
    - frandroid 9y ago
      Ahhh I see. So I notice your username, and I'm wondering; are you both a developer and an Uber driver? Are you practicing both jobs at a time?
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
s73ver 9y ago
And yet, the consumers have still all lost.
frikk 9y ago
That's not entirely true. In our market, there aren't many Uber drivers and it's easy to game the system. A few weeks ago I took a ride with someone who was trying very hard not to "join the uber mafia". He said that most of the time he also has to turn off his phone, otherwise he gets screwed over. The reason is that when there are no more drivers, he'll get matched with people on the other side of town. He doesn't get paid for the drive out, and sometimes people still cancel after waiting 20 minutes for an uber to show up after ordering. Even with surge pricing it didn't make financial sense, so he'll turn off his phone too or switch to Lyft during these periods.
potatolicious 9y ago
Surge pricing - at least on Uber - is only re-evaluated at a fixed frequency. Which is to say even if the supply rushes in to fill the void there is still a certain amount of time before the surge is turned off. I imagine multiple people (heck, many people) can win the game in this period.

by aianus 9y ago

alextheparrot 9y ago

The post seems to make clear that once the surge pricing becomes active more than on person can capture customers at that price level, meaning their earnings are likely higher by doing this.

CodeWriter23 9y ago

It takes more than one ride dispatch to quell the surge. I've watched bar/club closings stay in surge for 30 minutes while cars stream in to pick up riders. I personally have given 5 surge rides in a row, albeit short rides, just by picking up at a particular hot spot, getting a local, drop them off, go offline, return to hot spot, wash, rinse, repeat.

frandroid 9y ago
> go offline So you're priming the surge pump, so to speak, since you know where the ride requests will be anyway.
- CodeWriter23 9y ago
  Actually it's the opposite. When I drop off outside of the surge zone and go back to that zone to make a pickup inside, that helps quell the surge in that hot spot. I've never noticed surging in the neighborhoods I just left when I go back online. If I stayed online in the neighborhoods, I would likely get dispatched around the drop off point, prolonging the surge at the bar.
  - frandroid 9y ago
    Ahhh I see. So I notice your username, and I'm wondering; are you both a developer and an Uber driver? Are you practicing both jobs at a time?

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

s73ver 9y ago

And yet, the consumers have still all lost.

frikk 9y ago

That's not entirely true. In our market, there aren't many Uber drivers and it's easy to game the system. A few weeks ago I took a ride with someone who was trying very hard not to "join the uber mafia". He said that most of the time he also has to turn off his phone, otherwise he gets screwed over. The reason is that when there are no more drivers, he'll get matched with people on the other side of town. He doesn't get paid for the drive out, and sometimes people still cancel after waiting 20 minutes for an uber to show up after ordering. Even with surge pricing it didn't make financial sense, so he'll turn off his phone too or switch to Lyft during these periods.

potatolicious 9y ago

Surge pricing - at least on Uber - is only re-evaluated at a fixed frequency. Which is to say even if the supply rushes in to fill the void there is still a certain amount of time before the surge is turned off. I imagine multiple people (heck, many people) can win the game in this period.