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Additionally taxis are regulated so as to create a reasonably universally publicly accessible transportation system. That is that you can call a cab and it will

Additionally taxis are regulated so as to create a reasonably universally publicly accessible transportation system. That is that you can call a cab and it will pick you up and you will have an understanding of the price you will pay. In an Uber/Lyft ride hailing system cabs can only be hailed via an app, and will only accept the most profitable rides. Surge pricing may also make the ride only affordable to the relatively wealthy. In such a system, low income persons in relatively remote areas lose transportation options. Part of the extra price of cabs is the price of creating a transportation system that is accessible to everyone, not just the most wealthy.

iopq 9y ago
Uber and Lyft actually succeeded in creating an accessible system that everyone could afford. You have it all backwards. The common person can actually afford Uber, not cabs.
- Tiktaalik 9y ago
  Many elderly people are no longer able to drive and aren't technically comfortable with using mobile phones. App based ride hailing dominance reduces accessibility.
  - astrange 9y ago
    A button that calls you an Uber is as easy to build as a button that calls the taxi dispatcher for you, but I don’t think the elderly appreciate the taxi experience of demanding cash because they’re pretending the card reader broke. (You can already get a voice assistant to book a ride for you too.)
    - marenkay 9y ago
      Ask your grandma etc if they would use that. Anyone above 50 these days will probably not give you a nice answer to having to use smartphones or voice assistants that usually understand less than a newborn child.
      - brucephillips 9y ago
        You've never met a newborn child.
        marenkay 9y ago
        Happen to have a grown up child. Duh.
        brucephillips 9y ago
        Who understood English at birth?
      - 1_2__4 9y ago
        As someone around that age get off your virtue signaling high horse. People in their fifties today helped build most of the tech you use every day, but even if they hadn’t your implicit ageism levied in service of an accessibility rant is a level of irony that just can’t be ignored.
        marenkay 9y ago
        Considering my own age, it might happen that I just mentioned this because I am rather close to that generation myself. I seriously doubt people will be comfortable with this stuff unless they have a history with engineering/IT.
        dang 9y ago
        We've banned this account for repeatedly violating the HN guidelines.
  - 1_2__4 9y ago
    No, it doesn’t. See we can both play the no proof game.
ClassyJacket 9y ago
How can that be true when Uber is cheaper than taxis?
- Tiktaalik 9y ago
  Uber drivers aren't obligated to accept hail requests. As Uber gains dominance over regulated taxis (which are obligated to serve everyone), the level of accessibility to transportation in certain generally unprofitable areas may decrease.
pfarnsworth 9y ago
> That is that you can call a cab and it will pick you up and you will have an understanding of the price you will pay. LOL you must never have taken a cab ride pre-Uber. Your two assertions are the two main reasons why Uber and Lyft exist. > In an Uber/Lyft ride hailing system cabs can only be hailed via an app, and will only accept the most profitable rides. You don't know how the Uber app works.
- megaman22 9y ago
  Lol, where I live, the idea of finding any cab, even if you knew the cab company and called them, was laughable. Uber at least will come, and will give you an estimate beforehand.
- Tiktaalik 9y ago
  > You don't know how the Uber app works. So Uber drivers are not able to decline a ride request?
  - pfarnsworth 9y ago
    No, not the way that you're describing. They have no way to "accept only the most profitable rides". This is patently false.
    - Tiktaalik 9y ago
      Ok yeah I see what you mean. The fear that I've heard described by politicians in my city is that uber drivers could position themselves in areas where they know from experience they will be most profitable (eg. dense downtown core) while avoiding areas that over time are not as profitable (eg. sparse outer areas). This fact, coupled with the fact that they are not obligated to travel to a certain area to receive a fare, means that certain areas could receive less reliable service as drivers chase high profit areas and are able to ignore others.
      - greenleafjacob 9y ago

iopq 9y ago

Uber and Lyft actually succeeded in creating an accessible system that everyone could afford. You have it all backwards. The common person can actually afford Uber, not cabs.

Tiktaalik 9y ago
Many elderly people are no longer able to drive and aren't technically comfortable with using mobile phones. App based ride hailing dominance reduces accessibility.
- astrange 9y ago
  A button that calls you an Uber is as easy to build as a button that calls the taxi dispatcher for you, but I don’t think the elderly appreciate the taxi experience of demanding cash because they’re pretending the card reader broke. (You can already get a voice assistant to book a ride for you too.)
  - marenkay 9y ago
    Ask your grandma etc if they would use that. Anyone above 50 these days will probably not give you a nice answer to having to use smartphones or voice assistants that usually understand less than a newborn child.
    - brucephillips 9y ago
      You've never met a newborn child.
      - marenkay 9y ago
        Happen to have a grown up child. Duh.
        brucephillips 9y ago
        Who understood English at birth?
    - 1_2__4 9y ago
      As someone around that age get off your virtue signaling high horse. People in their fifties today helped build most of the tech you use every day, but even if they hadn’t your implicit ageism levied in service of an accessibility rant is a level of irony that just can’t be ignored.
      - marenkay 9y ago
        Considering my own age, it might happen that I just mentioned this because I am rather close to that generation myself. I seriously doubt people will be comfortable with this stuff unless they have a history with engineering/IT.
      - dang 9y ago
        We've banned this account for repeatedly violating the HN guidelines.
- 1_2__4 9y ago
  No, it doesn’t. See we can both play the no proof game.

ClassyJacket 9y ago

How can that be true when Uber is cheaper than taxis?

Tiktaalik 9y ago
Uber drivers aren't obligated to accept hail requests. As Uber gains dominance over regulated taxis (which are obligated to serve everyone), the level of accessibility to transportation in certain generally unprofitable areas may decrease.

pfarnsworth 9y ago

> That is that you can call a cab and it will pick you up and you will have an understanding of the price you will pay. LOL you must never have taken a cab ride pre-Uber. Your two assertions are the two main reasons why Uber and Lyft exist. > In an Uber/Lyft ride hailing system cabs can only be hailed via an app, and will only accept the most profitable rides. You don't know how the Uber app works.

megaman22 9y ago
Lol, where I live, the idea of finding any cab, even if you knew the cab company and called them, was laughable. Uber at least will come, and will give you an estimate beforehand.
Tiktaalik 9y ago
> You don't know how the Uber app works. So Uber drivers are not able to decline a ride request?
- pfarnsworth 9y ago
  No, not the way that you're describing. They have no way to "accept only the most profitable rides". This is patently false.
  - Tiktaalik 9y ago
    Ok yeah I see what you mean. The fear that I've heard described by politicians in my city is that uber drivers could position themselves in areas where they know from experience they will be most profitable (eg. dense downtown core) while avoiding areas that over time are not as profitable (eg. sparse outer areas). This fact, coupled with the fact that they are not obligated to travel to a certain area to receive a fare, means that certain areas could receive less reliable service as drivers chase high profit areas and are able to ignore others.
    - greenleafjacob 9y ago