4 ms·

Thankfully, Uber exists. Otherwise I'd have to download and register on all sorts of dinky city-specific apps any time I travel. Uber, for all of its faults, i

by jbob2000 9y ago

Thankfully, Uber exists. Otherwise I'd have to download and register on all sorts of dinky city-specific apps any time I travel. Uber, for all of its faults, is the only one that works in every city I've traveled to.

ghaff 9y ago
I won't say it's vanishingly small but, relatively speaking, there aren't a huge number of people who have a problem with needing taxi services in a bunch of different cities. I travel about 100 days a year and I don't use these services very much and I don't think I've used Uber in a year or two. Worldwide availability of a brand just doesn't seem like a huge deal.
- seanmcdirmid 9y ago
  There are some places where brands like Uber is extremely valuable, like Manila, where taxis are very apt to rip off free-off-the plane foreigners. Heck, most of SE Asia (there are local services also, but I’d rather not track them down before each trip).
  - ghaff 9y ago
    That may be the case but my point was that hopping off-the-plane in SE Asia and grabbing a cab is not such a routine occurrence for most Westerners as to be a viable business model for VC-backed companies.
    - isostatic 9y ago
      Outside of america, how many people routinely travel by taxi/rideshare/etc. In my experience, most locals take public transport. The international businessperson (on expenses) is a large market -- look at the size of the market for hotels, airlines, etc. The one place I see taxis in use as mass transit by normal people is Singapore, where they are mostly ubiquitous (in the centre) and cheap. Even then getting a taxi if you're a couple of miles out (say in Hougang, where I spent a month) is hard work - Uber wasn't perfect but it worked well enough.
      - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
        China: taxis and ride sharing is extremely popular with the middle class. "Most locals" do take public transit, but given 10 million people in Beijing alone, some is still a large number. Most developing Asian economies have thriving taxi industries where taking a taxi isn't considered a niche service/extreme luxury. Heck, taxis were never that popular in America, nowhere near how they were popular in China in even 1999.
        isostatic 9y ago
        I took a taxi in beijing a few years ago. Was in it about 40 mintues, traveled about a mile. Paid the driver a 20 Yuan note (about $3) and went into the hotel. Driver came running after me with 8yuan in change. I assume taxis are still insanely cheap, and traffic is still insanely bad. Last time I was there I took the train and metro. I do the same in Moscow - why sit in traffic?
        seanmcdirmid 9y ago
        Have you seen Beijing's subway? I travelled to and from work off hours, so I would go to work around 6:30 and come home around 3:30-4, taking the taxi to and from each day was totally feasible and affordable. Even in peak traffic, you still might win in a taxi vs. a subway depending on where you are going. When the whole system melts down, sure, take the subway as a last resort.
        ghaff 9y ago
        I took Beijing's subway around quite a bit last summer. At least where I was going, it seemed preferable to sitting in traffic. Payment seemed easier to navigate as well compared to the prior time I visited. I'd have said it was a pretty decent subway system overall.
        seanmcdirmid 9y ago
        I think if you are exploring the city during rush hour, sure subway makes sense. If you have a fixed route you go between everyday and know when the traffic ebs and flows, taxis are much more convenient. If you are out at night after rush hour, then taxis are the obvious choice. Beijing's subway system is crowded, some routes are super crowded (line 10, ugh), interchanges can be long and windy, and can also have their own long lines (e.g. transferring at dongzhimen during rush hour). There are a lot more lines definitely then when I started living there (2007, line 10 didn't even exist yet), but there are very good reasons didi is still extremely popular.
    - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
      There are many western cultures who travel more than Americans. Much of Norway migrates to Thailand during the winter, for example. As for viability, you might be right, but global ride sharing services have been a game changing feature for me. Even at a premium, it would still be a useful service.
- Consultant32452 9y ago
  For me, it's more that I'd have no idea which app is the go-to taxi hailing app in a given city, or if one even exists. Like if you were going to visit Miami or Phoenix, would you know what to install besides Uber/Lyft? I wouldn't. Would the difference in quality/price be enough for you to spend time trying to figure it out?
- phil21 9y ago
  You're correct that there are not a huge number of people who travel for a living and need this, but for those that do they have very likely been early Uber adopters and I'd guess are over-represented in their current customer base. They also likely spend far more per year on car services than average. I know I only use Uber simply due to the whole "I really don't want to install 2 dozen apps" problem. My girlfriend who is in sales travels 70% of the time to about 3-4 dozen cities per year - if there is no Uber available she simply rents a car for the day. "Installing random app #34" is not even on either of our radar, and I don't think we're the exception to the rule. As Uber/Lyft/etc. get larger of course this segment of the riding population becomes less and less important. I of course find this sad for selfish reasons!
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
fenwick67 9y ago
Yes god forbid you install two apps
- viscanti 9y ago
  Install N apps where N is the number of markets you eventually travel to. If you only ever travel to one other market maybe 2 is fine. If you need to download tens or hundreds of apps that might be a bit much. Not everyone will travel to that many markets, but for those who do, they might care.
  - isostatic 9y ago
    1) Find out what the required app is 2) Keep them all uptodate 3) Keep your details registered with them, despite using them once every 2 years 4) Remember which app to use in which city Uber just works. Sadly apart from where I live, which is like the 1990s in terms of taxi provision.

ghaff 9y ago

I won't say it's vanishingly small but, relatively speaking, there aren't a huge number of people who have a problem with needing taxi services in a bunch of different cities. I travel about 100 days a year and I don't use these services very much and I don't think I've used Uber in a year or two. Worldwide availability of a brand just doesn't seem like a huge deal.

seanmcdirmid 9y ago
There are some places where brands like Uber is extremely valuable, like Manila, where taxis are very apt to rip off free-off-the plane foreigners. Heck, most of SE Asia (there are local services also, but I’d rather not track them down before each trip).
- ghaff 9y ago
  That may be the case but my point was that hopping off-the-plane in SE Asia and grabbing a cab is not such a routine occurrence for most Westerners as to be a viable business model for VC-backed companies.
  - isostatic 9y ago
    Outside of america, how many people routinely travel by taxi/rideshare/etc. In my experience, most locals take public transport. The international businessperson (on expenses) is a large market -- look at the size of the market for hotels, airlines, etc. The one place I see taxis in use as mass transit by normal people is Singapore, where they are mostly ubiquitous (in the centre) and cheap. Even then getting a taxi if you're a couple of miles out (say in Hougang, where I spent a month) is hard work - Uber wasn't perfect but it worked well enough.
    - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
      China: taxis and ride sharing is extremely popular with the middle class. "Most locals" do take public transit, but given 10 million people in Beijing alone, some is still a large number. Most developing Asian economies have thriving taxi industries where taking a taxi isn't considered a niche service/extreme luxury. Heck, taxis were never that popular in America, nowhere near how they were popular in China in even 1999.
      - isostatic 9y ago
        I took a taxi in beijing a few years ago. Was in it about 40 mintues, traveled about a mile. Paid the driver a 20 Yuan note (about $3) and went into the hotel. Driver came running after me with 8yuan in change. I assume taxis are still insanely cheap, and traffic is still insanely bad. Last time I was there I took the train and metro. I do the same in Moscow - why sit in traffic?
        seanmcdirmid 9y ago
        Have you seen Beijing's subway? I travelled to and from work off hours, so I would go to work around 6:30 and come home around 3:30-4, taking the taxi to and from each day was totally feasible and affordable. Even in peak traffic, you still might win in a taxi vs. a subway depending on where you are going. When the whole system melts down, sure, take the subway as a last resort.
        ghaff 9y ago
        I took Beijing's subway around quite a bit last summer. At least where I was going, it seemed preferable to sitting in traffic. Payment seemed easier to navigate as well compared to the prior time I visited. I'd have said it was a pretty decent subway system overall.
        seanmcdirmid 9y ago
        I think if you are exploring the city during rush hour, sure subway makes sense. If you have a fixed route you go between everyday and know when the traffic ebs and flows, taxis are much more convenient. If you are out at night after rush hour, then taxis are the obvious choice. Beijing's subway system is crowded, some routes are super crowded (line 10, ugh), interchanges can be long and windy, and can also have their own long lines (e.g. transferring at dongzhimen during rush hour). There are a lot more lines definitely then when I started living there (2007, line 10 didn't even exist yet), but there are very good reasons didi is still extremely popular.
  - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
    There are many western cultures who travel more than Americans. Much of Norway migrates to Thailand during the winter, for example. As for viability, you might be right, but global ride sharing services have been a game changing feature for me. Even at a premium, it would still be a useful service.
Consultant32452 9y ago
For me, it's more that I'd have no idea which app is the go-to taxi hailing app in a given city, or if one even exists. Like if you were going to visit Miami or Phoenix, would you know what to install besides Uber/Lyft? I wouldn't. Would the difference in quality/price be enough for you to spend time trying to figure it out?
phil21 9y ago
You're correct that there are not a huge number of people who travel for a living and need this, but for those that do they have very likely been early Uber adopters and I'd guess are over-represented in their current customer base. They also likely spend far more per year on car services than average. I know I only use Uber simply due to the whole "I really don't want to install 2 dozen apps" problem. My girlfriend who is in sales travels 70% of the time to about 3-4 dozen cities per year - if there is no Uber available she simply rents a car for the day. "Installing random app #34" is not even on either of our radar, and I don't think we're the exception to the rule. As Uber/Lyft/etc. get larger of course this segment of the riding population becomes less and less important. I of course find this sad for selfish reasons!

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

fenwick67 9y ago

Yes god forbid you install two apps

viscanti 9y ago
Install N apps where N is the number of markets you eventually travel to. If you only ever travel to one other market maybe 2 is fine. If you need to download tens or hundreds of apps that might be a bit much. Not everyone will travel to that many markets, but for those who do, they might care.
- isostatic 9y ago
  1) Find out what the required app is 2) Keep them all uptodate 3) Keep your details registered with them, despite using them once every 2 years 4) Remember which app to use in which city Uber just works. Sadly apart from where I live, which is like the 1990s in terms of taxi provision.