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>Many public transit companies have been around for decades and haven't figured out how to scale up to the kind of service Uber is providing This is because th

>Many public transit companies have been around for decades and haven't figured out how to scale up to the kind of service Uber is providing This is because these are publicly funded organizations that are starved of funds for political reasons. Public transit works well where it's funded well. It's a political problem, not a technology problem.

selectodude 8y ago
Even the best funded public transit services are substantial money losers. Paris covers 70 cents of every dollar, Madrid 60 cents, and even in Berlin and Munich its 30 cents. But that covers 100 percent of their expenses. If Uber had to shell out to fix the streets that they use, I bet it wouldn't be so cheap.
- Pyxl101 8y ago
  > If Uber had to shell out to fix the streets that they use, I bet it wouldn't be so cheap. Streets are public infrastructure and are paid for by taxes, which Uber and all other companies that do business using roads presumably pay, just like everyone else. So, unless you have a specific reason to believe otherwise, it is fair to assume that yes, Uber is paying for the streets that they use. If streets are not being adequately paid for, then that's a failure of the government that's responsible for them, not the businesses that are using them (streets are there to be used).
  - selectodude 8y ago
    >Uber is paying for the streets that they use. Uber doesn't pay a cent in gas taxes (they're not employees, they're partners, right?), and since they've never made money before, they don't pay a cent in taxes either.
    - woolvalley 8y ago
      The drivers pay gas taxes, and the majority of the revenue goes to the drivers. Therefore car activity that uber induces is also paid for by the customers that use it. Basic induction. What you are doing is like complaining about amazon or the local grocer inducing truck demand and not paying for the roads. It's a bit obvious you have a chip on your shoulder about Uber and ride share companies in general.
    - icebraining 8y ago
      Careful about mistaking accounting for economics. If gas taxes were lowered to zero, could Uber increase their share of the ride payment by the current tax amount, without harming their relationship with the drivers? If so, then Uber is paying that tax, not the drivers.
      - selectodude 8y ago
        Maybe if gasoline weren't extremely inelastic, your begging the question wouldn't be so ridiculous. I pay $4.00/gal for gas. The gas tax is 18 cents. Under 5 percent. Yes, I suppose Uber could lower their cut by a tenth of a percent and really put some extra change in my pocket!! PS. I have an expensive piece of paper in economics and statistics, but I appreciate you telling me to be careful. Gotta have somebody looking out for me, i suppose.
  - jakecopp 8y ago
    Lets dedicate the same public funding to trains & buses as we do to roads (including accounting for the property value sprawling roads occupy) and then see if public transport is comparable to ride-sharing. There's a reason advanced cities in Europe and Asia invest heavily in mass transit without the expectation of a commercial return, it's simply more space efficient.
- dnautics 8y ago
  Singapore's public transit system is run as a for profit (two competing companies, in fact), and it's one of the best and cheapest in the world.
  - foepys 8y ago
    Considering that you can't just buy a car in Singapore and need to get a permit to buy one, it better should be the best in the world.
    - megablast 8y ago
      Damn, that is the way it should be in the rest of the world.
  - jpatokal 8y ago
    It's operated by two for-profit companies, but the government paid the massive bill for the construction, sets the fares and even owns the rolling stock (trains) now: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/government-and-smrt-reach-agreement-on-new-rail-financing-framework https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/government-... ...and of course, this being Singapore, the companies in question (SMRT Corp and SBS Transit) are themselves largely owned by various government entities (Temasek etc).
    - dnautics 8y ago
      They are, however, responsible for upkeep and maintenance. Comfortdelgro is not largely owned by the Singapore sovereign wealth fund, and I personally like its lines a bit better than the smrt lines.
  - afsina 8y ago
    That is an outlier. Almost all public transportation systems runs on deficit.
    - dnautics 8y ago
- walterstucco 8y ago
  ATM in Milan rides all the public transport of the area, including buses, trains and trams It also manage the Copenhagen's subway It makes profits

selectodude 8y ago

Even the best funded public transit services are substantial money losers. Paris covers 70 cents of every dollar, Madrid 60 cents, and even in Berlin and Munich its 30 cents. But that covers 100 percent of their expenses. If Uber had to shell out to fix the streets that they use, I bet it wouldn't be so cheap.

Pyxl101 8y ago
> If Uber had to shell out to fix the streets that they use, I bet it wouldn't be so cheap. Streets are public infrastructure and are paid for by taxes, which Uber and all other companies that do business using roads presumably pay, just like everyone else. So, unless you have a specific reason to believe otherwise, it is fair to assume that yes, Uber is paying for the streets that they use. If streets are not being adequately paid for, then that's a failure of the government that's responsible for them, not the businesses that are using them (streets are there to be used).
- selectodude 8y ago
  >Uber is paying for the streets that they use. Uber doesn't pay a cent in gas taxes (they're not employees, they're partners, right?), and since they've never made money before, they don't pay a cent in taxes either.
  - woolvalley 8y ago
    The drivers pay gas taxes, and the majority of the revenue goes to the drivers. Therefore car activity that uber induces is also paid for by the customers that use it. Basic induction. What you are doing is like complaining about amazon or the local grocer inducing truck demand and not paying for the roads. It's a bit obvious you have a chip on your shoulder about Uber and ride share companies in general.
  - icebraining 8y ago
    Careful about mistaking accounting for economics. If gas taxes were lowered to zero, could Uber increase their share of the ride payment by the current tax amount, without harming their relationship with the drivers? If so, then Uber is paying that tax, not the drivers.
    - selectodude 8y ago
      Maybe if gasoline weren't extremely inelastic, your begging the question wouldn't be so ridiculous. I pay $4.00/gal for gas. The gas tax is 18 cents. Under 5 percent. Yes, I suppose Uber could lower their cut by a tenth of a percent and really put some extra change in my pocket!! PS. I have an expensive piece of paper in economics and statistics, but I appreciate you telling me to be careful. Gotta have somebody looking out for me, i suppose.
- jakecopp 8y ago
  Lets dedicate the same public funding to trains & buses as we do to roads (including accounting for the property value sprawling roads occupy) and then see if public transport is comparable to ride-sharing. There's a reason advanced cities in Europe and Asia invest heavily in mass transit without the expectation of a commercial return, it's simply more space efficient.
dnautics 8y ago
Singapore's public transit system is run as a for profit (two competing companies, in fact), and it's one of the best and cheapest in the world.
- foepys 8y ago
  Considering that you can't just buy a car in Singapore and need to get a permit to buy one, it better should be the best in the world.
  - megablast 8y ago
    Damn, that is the way it should be in the rest of the world.
- jpatokal 8y ago
  It's operated by two for-profit companies, but the government paid the massive bill for the construction, sets the fares and even owns the rolling stock (trains) now: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/government-and-smrt-reach-agreement-on-new-rail-financing-framework https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/government-... ...and of course, this being Singapore, the companies in question (SMRT Corp and SBS Transit) are themselves largely owned by various government entities (Temasek etc).
  - dnautics 8y ago
    They are, however, responsible for upkeep and maintenance. Comfortdelgro is not largely owned by the Singapore sovereign wealth fund, and I personally like its lines a bit better than the smrt lines.
- afsina 8y ago
  That is an outlier. Almost all public transportation systems runs on deficit.
  - dnautics 8y ago
walterstucco 8y ago
ATM in Milan rides all the public transport of the area, including buses, trains and trams It also manage the Copenhagen's subway It makes profits