27 ms·

This is my #1 most desired feature on Uber and Lyft.

by rawrmaan 8y ago

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
saudioger 8y ago
Take a bus
- mac01021 8y ago
  Even in that doubles the travel time and you have to switch buses twice before arriving at your destination? It's not irrational to want to reduce one's environmental impact without bearing that level of inconvenience, even if one could reduce it to a greater extent by spending the extra time.
  - saudioger 8y ago
    It's well argued that you're not significantly reducing your environmental impact by buying an electric car. There are literally millions of used cars that will ultimately be less harmful over their lifespans than increasing the demand for new vehicles. You can't only take into consideration mileage, but must also consider the environmental cost of production, logistics, and electricity generation. If you're going to whittle that argument down further by saying you _want_ a new car anyway, or you're drawn to reduced maintenance/fuel costs... you might as well admit that you don't actually care about the environment and just want a cool car (I won't knock that, but don't pretend that virtue is your motivation).
    - mac01021 8y ago
      I agree with everything you just said (and even on principle will only ever buy a used car) - except we're not talking about buying a new car. We're talking about using uber/lyft. If that uber driver is does uber-driving full time, and they charge their car using a suitably green power source, then the electric car might be seeing enough use/mileage that the emissions savings make a net win after a year or so on the road. Maybe uber-consisting-of-only-cars-at-least-10-years-old would still be better. But you're never going to get uber to implement that. And of course taking the bus is better, but sometimes extremely inconvenient (for some definition of "extremely". ---------------------------------- Separate line of thought - I have in the past reasoned thus: In the year 2025, millions of new cars will be produced and sold. There is nothing that a couple of curmudgeons like you and I can do about that. But the fraction of those cars that are electric vs petroleum-powered is going to depend on the number of people who by electric cars between now and then. Consumer behavior does influence the set of products that vendors make available to consume in subsequent months and years. So maybe these brand-new-electric-car-buyers are actually helping in an indirect (and impractical-to-quantify) way.

This is my #1 most desired feature on Uber and Lyft.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

saudioger 8y ago

Take a bus

mac01021 8y ago
Even in that doubles the travel time and you have to switch buses twice before arriving at your destination? It's not irrational to want to reduce one's environmental impact without bearing that level of inconvenience, even if one could reduce it to a greater extent by spending the extra time.
- saudioger 8y ago
  It's well argued that you're not significantly reducing your environmental impact by buying an electric car. There are literally millions of used cars that will ultimately be less harmful over their lifespans than increasing the demand for new vehicles. You can't only take into consideration mileage, but must also consider the environmental cost of production, logistics, and electricity generation. If you're going to whittle that argument down further by saying you _want_ a new car anyway, or you're drawn to reduced maintenance/fuel costs... you might as well admit that you don't actually care about the environment and just want a cool car (I won't knock that, but don't pretend that virtue is your motivation).
  - mac01021 8y ago
    I agree with everything you just said (and even on principle will only ever buy a used car) - except we're not talking about buying a new car. We're talking about using uber/lyft. If that uber driver is does uber-driving full time, and they charge their car using a suitably green power source, then the electric car might be seeing enough use/mileage that the emissions savings make a net win after a year or so on the road. Maybe uber-consisting-of-only-cars-at-least-10-years-old would still be better. But you're never going to get uber to implement that. And of course taking the bus is better, but sometimes extremely inconvenient (for some definition of "extremely". ---------------------------------- Separate line of thought - I have in the past reasoned thus: In the year 2025, millions of new cars will be produced and sold. There is nothing that a couple of curmudgeons like you and I can do about that. But the fraction of those cars that are electric vs petroleum-powered is going to depend on the number of people who by electric cars between now and then. Consumer behavior does influence the set of products that vendors make available to consume in subsequent months and years. So maybe these brand-new-electric-car-buyers are actually helping in an indirect (and impractical-to-quantify) way.