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Uber is (in my opinion) a scam, and (objectively) not ride sharing. 'Ride sharing' does not even begin to describe Uber. There is no sharing going on whatsoeve

Uber is (in my opinion) a scam, and (objectively) not ride sharing. 'Ride sharing' does not even begin to describe Uber. There is no sharing going on whatsoever. It's a taxi company that just ignores the law on principle to gain an advantage, while also spending VC money like crazy in a very illegally anticompetitive manner.

perl4ever 9y ago
I don't see the VC money and avoiding regulation to be essential parts of the business though. I very rarely take a cab, and am not price sensitive. I tried Lyft, albeit not Uber, and like people repeatedly say, the good things about it are (a) you get fast response and a direct way to contact the driver, (b) you see how close they are to you on a moving map, (c) you get an up front estimate, and (d) they don't demand cash. While it might slow them down if they weren't subsidizing drivers, or drivers weren't subsidizing them, it wouldn't change the fact that the things they do are actually worth more than a regular cab, so they could charge more and not less, as far as I'm concerned. If Uber and Lyft are "just taxi companies" then why don't all the other taxi companies just make a similar app and then promote the idea their upstart competitors are regulation-avoiding scum? It ought to be more effective than ignoring why people use them.
- alphaalpha101 9y ago
  >I don't see the VC money and avoiding regulation to be essential parts of the business though. But it is. The entire reason they're cheaper than taxis is that the VC money is subsidising their losses because they have capital to burn, and they pay no tax and have uncertified and unlicensed drivers. >I very rarely take a cab, and am not price sensitive. I tried Lyft, albeit not Uber, and like people repeatedly say, the good things about it are (a) you get fast response and a direct way to contact the driver, (b) you see how close they are to you on a moving map, (c) you get an up front estimate, and (d) they don't demand cash. Same is true of all the taxis I can think of. Fast response, can contact driver, see them on a map, get an estimate of price, can pay through app, etc. >While it might slow them down if they weren't subsidizing drivers, or drivers weren't subsidizing them, it wouldn't change the fact that the things they do are actually worth more than a regular cab, so they could charge more and not less, as far as I'm concerned. In your area? Perhaps. But Uber could not exist without VC money and breaking the law all over the world. If their service is supposedly worth more, then why are there prices so much lower?

perl4ever 9y ago

I don't see the VC money and avoiding regulation to be essential parts of the business though. I very rarely take a cab, and am not price sensitive. I tried Lyft, albeit not Uber, and like people repeatedly say, the good things about it are (a) you get fast response and a direct way to contact the driver, (b) you see how close they are to you on a moving map, (c) you get an up front estimate, and (d) they don't demand cash. While it might slow them down if they weren't subsidizing drivers, or drivers weren't subsidizing them, it wouldn't change the fact that the things they do are actually worth more than a regular cab, so they could charge more and not less, as far as I'm concerned. If Uber and Lyft are "just taxi companies" then why don't all the other taxi companies just make a similar app and then promote the idea their upstart competitors are regulation-avoiding scum? It ought to be more effective than ignoring why people use them.

alphaalpha101 9y ago
>I don't see the VC money and avoiding regulation to be essential parts of the business though. But it is. The entire reason they're cheaper than taxis is that the VC money is subsidising their losses because they have capital to burn, and they pay no tax and have uncertified and unlicensed drivers. >I very rarely take a cab, and am not price sensitive. I tried Lyft, albeit not Uber, and like people repeatedly say, the good things about it are (a) you get fast response and a direct way to contact the driver, (b) you see how close they are to you on a moving map, (c) you get an up front estimate, and (d) they don't demand cash. Same is true of all the taxis I can think of. Fast response, can contact driver, see them on a map, get an estimate of price, can pay through app, etc. >While it might slow them down if they weren't subsidizing drivers, or drivers weren't subsidizing them, it wouldn't change the fact that the things they do are actually worth more than a regular cab, so they could charge more and not less, as far as I'm concerned. In your area? Perhaps. But Uber could not exist without VC money and breaking the law all over the world. If their service is supposedly worth more, then why are there prices so much lower?