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I think that's a really interesting concept. People think Uber will reach a scale where either it can use automation to reduce costs or jack up prices. It may w

I think that's a really interesting concept. People think Uber will reach a scale where either it can use automation to reduce costs or jack up prices. It may well be the other way around - as it matures regulations catch up and the loopholes it was using to keep costs down disappear and their costs slowly increase instead.

jameslevy 8y ago
Places like NYC already show this in practice.
- an_account_name 8y ago
  Can you elaborate? I don't have any context on this other than taking a Lyft in NYC once.
  - ancientworldnow 8y ago
    NYC introduced fees for ride sharing with destinations or pickups in Manhattan to reduce congestion. They also added fees to guarantee a reasonable minimum wage for the drivers of the ride sharing app. The difference in price between a cab and a uber/lyft is relatively small. Convenience seems to be the primary driver for which people use (cabs in Manhattan frequently because of ubiquity, apps in other boroughs).
    - greenyoda 8y ago
      NYC also imposed a cap on the number of ride sharing vehicles that could be operated. Uber is suing to try to overturn it: https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/uber-suing-new-york-city-over-cap-on-ride-sharing-drivers-021819.html https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/uber-suing-new-york-cit...
losteric 8y ago
Or that terrible customer experiences which are currently "exceptions to the rule" end up becoming the norm at whatever they pay drivers/charge customers... there are only so many good drivers and customers/contractors burned by bad experiences will not come back to Uber's platform.
- napier 8y ago
  See how well Gojek and Grab are eating Uber's lunch across Asia. Better experience and lower costs.
  - moltar 8y ago
    Wouldn’t say Grab is a good experience. I find drivers less trained, cars more beat up (less QC). Also drivers can be weird. On two occasions they were trying to sneakily take pics of my wife when she was alone. My wife’s Caucasian. This is in Thailand by the way. The only thing is good (for me) about grab is price. It’s unsustainably cheap, like Uber.
- sephicr 8y ago
  Where I live (in Norway) we are quite well accustomed to bad experiences with overpriceed taxis and bad customer services with existing taxi companies (in large operated with immigrant drivers). Uber would give so much more transparency and security for customers that I'm baffled that it has not been allowed yet

jameslevy 8y ago

Places like NYC already show this in practice.

an_account_name 8y ago
Can you elaborate? I don't have any context on this other than taking a Lyft in NYC once.
- ancientworldnow 8y ago
  NYC introduced fees for ride sharing with destinations or pickups in Manhattan to reduce congestion. They also added fees to guarantee a reasonable minimum wage for the drivers of the ride sharing app. The difference in price between a cab and a uber/lyft is relatively small. Convenience seems to be the primary driver for which people use (cabs in Manhattan frequently because of ubiquity, apps in other boroughs).
  - greenyoda 8y ago
    NYC also imposed a cap on the number of ride sharing vehicles that could be operated. Uber is suing to try to overturn it: https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/uber-suing-new-york-city-over-cap-on-ride-sharing-drivers-021819.html https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/uber-suing-new-york-cit...

losteric 8y ago

Or that terrible customer experiences which are currently "exceptions to the rule" end up becoming the norm at whatever they pay drivers/charge customers... there are only so many good drivers and customers/contractors burned by bad experiences will not come back to Uber's platform.

napier 8y ago
See how well Gojek and Grab are eating Uber's lunch across Asia. Better experience and lower costs.
- moltar 8y ago
  Wouldn’t say Grab is a good experience. I find drivers less trained, cars more beat up (less QC). Also drivers can be weird. On two occasions they were trying to sneakily take pics of my wife when she was alone. My wife’s Caucasian. This is in Thailand by the way. The only thing is good (for me) about grab is price. It’s unsustainably cheap, like Uber.
sephicr 8y ago
Where I live (in Norway) we are quite well accustomed to bad experiences with overpriceed taxis and bad customer services with existing taxi companies (in large operated with immigrant drivers). Uber would give so much more transparency and security for customers that I'm baffled that it has not been allowed yet