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Uber's new "cheap" pool option forces you to walk up to 5 blocks (!!) and is the same price that it used to be. Lyft's pool option doesn't make you walk and th

by elhudy 8y ago

Uber's new "cheap" pool option forces you to walk up to 5 blocks (!!) and is the same price that it used to be. Lyft's pool option doesn't make you walk and the prices have remained unchanged. Uber lost all of my (bi-daily) business when they moved to the pool express business model.

blawson 8y ago
Interesting! That’s new to me, and honestly a benefit in places like SF, where dropping someone off or picking someone up at a specific address might involve numerous annoying loops / turns around one way streets, where the passenger could just make everyone else’s life easier and walk a block or two. This feels like a positive change as long as weather isn’t a huge concern.
- chadwittman 8y ago
  Agreed. A lot of one-way streets in Seattle. I had been setting the pickup spot 2 blocks away just for traffic / one-way / highway access, now UberPool automatically selects that spot and I save money. It's been a win for me personally.
- et-al 8y ago
  Lyft offered this back in 2015 and called it "HotSpots". I thought it was great for the same reasons, but unfortunately they discontinued it after one summer. https://www.recode.net/2015/8/25/11618002/lyft-kills-off-hotspots-as-uber-launches-copycat-smart-routes-service https://www.recode.net/2015/8/25/11618002/lyft-kills-off-hot...
- elhudy 8y ago
  An issue with this, from a greedy consumer perspective, is that it allows the app more time to get you to your destination. If I do an uber pool express, the time saved from walking doesn't credit to my day; that time is used to pick up more and further passengers, and introduces further room for driver error. With old-pool, the driver did have to make more loops to get to me, which lowered the available time to get to my destination (as per the estimated arrival time provided by the app). Due to the tighter timeline, I typically arrived at my destination quicker and with fewer pickups.
ahakki 8y ago
> Uber's new "cheap" pool option forces you to walk up to 5 blocks (!!) Uber is disrupting the bus service.
- freyir 8y ago
  Uber is disrupting walking.
  - jmelloy 8y ago
    Shared Lyft is amazing. Half the price at least.
skynetv2 8y ago
I've tried to use pool a number of times in the bay area, all it did was make me waste about 30m each time, at the end of which I used Lyft to get to where I need to get to.

by elhudy 8y ago

blawson 8y ago

Interesting! That’s new to me, and honestly a benefit in places like SF, where dropping someone off or picking someone up at a specific address might involve numerous annoying loops / turns around one way streets, where the passenger could just make everyone else’s life easier and walk a block or two. This feels like a positive change as long as weather isn’t a huge concern.

chadwittman 8y ago
Agreed. A lot of one-way streets in Seattle. I had been setting the pickup spot 2 blocks away just for traffic / one-way / highway access, now UberPool automatically selects that spot and I save money. It's been a win for me personally.
et-al 8y ago
Lyft offered this back in 2015 and called it "HotSpots". I thought it was great for the same reasons, but unfortunately they discontinued it after one summer. https://www.recode.net/2015/8/25/11618002/lyft-kills-off-hotspots-as-uber-launches-copycat-smart-routes-service https://www.recode.net/2015/8/25/11618002/lyft-kills-off-hot...
elhudy 8y ago
An issue with this, from a greedy consumer perspective, is that it allows the app more time to get you to your destination. If I do an uber pool express, the time saved from walking doesn't credit to my day; that time is used to pick up more and further passengers, and introduces further room for driver error. With old-pool, the driver did have to make more loops to get to me, which lowered the available time to get to my destination (as per the estimated arrival time provided by the app). Due to the tighter timeline, I typically arrived at my destination quicker and with fewer pickups.

ahakki 8y ago

> Uber's new "cheap" pool option forces you to walk up to 5 blocks (!!) Uber is disrupting the bus service.

freyir 8y ago
Uber is disrupting walking.
- jmelloy 8y ago
  Shared Lyft is amazing. Half the price at least.

skynetv2 8y ago

I've tried to use pool a number of times in the bay area, all it did was make me waste about 30m each time, at the end of which I used Lyft to get to where I need to get to.