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In the end you will have a service costing the same as a regular Taxi but without all the benefits of them being licensed. Taxi licensing may be screwed up and

In the end you will have a service costing the same as a regular Taxi but without all the benefits of them being licensed. Taxi licensing may be screwed up and unfair in the US but in many parts of the world it works well.

marsRoverDev 7y ago
Cost was not the only driver for the push towards Uber. The fact that the licensing scheme was ineffective at providing a safe, positive experience in almost every market I visited was the major driver. If I'm paying the same as a cab it doesn't matter, as long as the driver is accountable for their behaviour, state of their vehicle and driving it is and always will be a superior experience to traditional cabs. I also find it doubtful that the Uber experience will ever cost as much, unless they completely kill off all competition (not going to happen). They have no moat - the network effect does not enable them to have a true monopoly, or even duopoly because the concept is simple enough to implement with an app and a team.
function_seven 7y ago
If Uber cost the same as a taxi, I would still use Uber. They're much quicker to show up, have an app (vs. calling a dispatch center and trying to explain where you are), and the quality has been much better than taxis in my experience. Taxis have the "broken" card machines, the ads playing on the little screen, and the 30 minute wait for a ride if you're not in a high-density urban center.
- jjoonathan 7y ago
  A 30 minute wait... to find that the taxi decided to take someone else's fare 20 minutes ago.
- distances 7y ago
  I've been using MyTaxi app in Germany, and it seems to provide the same major upsides (map for pickup and destination, fare approximation known beforehand, pay via app). Feels more trustworthy too.
kuzehanka 7y ago
I'm fine with Uber costing the same as a regular taxi. Riding in a taxi is a garbage experience compared to uber. Drivers making excuses not to take you after learning your destination, rude drivers, drivers who have no clue how to navigate, drivers who pretend the card machine is broken, or try to take you on winding routes to increase the fare. Despite all the supposed downsides of ridesharing, it continues to be immensely more popular than the traditional taxi service even as the price gap closes. Because the traditional taxi service is a garbage rent seeking incumbent that needs to die for the good of all. I catch cabs or ridesharing on a daily basis for work, and cabs are just fucking awful compared to ridesharing.
- amrx431 7y ago
  This. Cabs that are not part of Uber, they just wont agree to take you. I still dont know these drivers rationale behind denying the ride. I understand its their prerogative to refuse a ride, but they do it so often which makes me wonder, how are they making money by refusing rides again and again.
- zaarn 7y ago
  In my country, a taxi driver is legally required to drive you to your destination unless it exceeds reasonable distances (around 50km, which far above what anyone would use a taxi for here). Drivers with broken cashier machines or taxameters aren't allowed to take passengers, especially a broken taxameter might mean that passenger will pay a very much reduced fare. Most of them have GPS, and if they don't they can be liable for excess distance travelled. Most taxi services here have excellent apps themselves and are cheaper than what Uber offered while they were allowed to operate (they are not just a glorified taxi service since non-taxi drivers aren't allowed on their service).
  - kuzehanka 7y ago
    In my country, the driver is also legally required to drive you to your destination. It doesn't stop them from making random excuses like 'oh sorry my gps is broken'. That is an actual excuse I got from not one but two cab drivers in a row when travelling between offices in the city.
randyrand 7y ago
Taxis had artificially restricted supply. I think you're forgetting how expensive taxis were. https://www.theawl.com/2012/07/how-much-more-do-taxi-fares-cost-today/ https://www.theawl.com/2012/07/how-much-more-do-taxi-fares-c... 2012 $2.50 first 1/5 mi. $2.50 per mile. $0.50 per 1 min. uberX 2019 (without counting inflation - ~10% since 2012): Per Minute: $0.66 Per Mile: $1.46 Minimum Fare: $7.19 Taxis are competitive for very short trips, but 3+ miles they're almost double (175%)!
- gnopgnip 7y ago
  Uber pricing is not actually based on the distance and time for most trips, it is a set amount decided ahead of time, usually much more than that base cost.
  - balfirevic 7y ago
    Not where I live, here it's entirely based on distance and time except for rides to the airport.

marsRoverDev 7y ago

Cost was not the only driver for the push towards Uber. The fact that the licensing scheme was ineffective at providing a safe, positive experience in almost every market I visited was the major driver. If I'm paying the same as a cab it doesn't matter, as long as the driver is accountable for their behaviour, state of their vehicle and driving it is and always will be a superior experience to traditional cabs. I also find it doubtful that the Uber experience will ever cost as much, unless they completely kill off all competition (not going to happen). They have no moat - the network effect does not enable them to have a true monopoly, or even duopoly because the concept is simple enough to implement with an app and a team.

function_seven 7y ago

If Uber cost the same as a taxi, I would still use Uber. They're much quicker to show up, have an app (vs. calling a dispatch center and trying to explain where you are), and the quality has been much better than taxis in my experience. Taxis have the "broken" card machines, the ads playing on the little screen, and the 30 minute wait for a ride if you're not in a high-density urban center.

jjoonathan 7y ago
A 30 minute wait... to find that the taxi decided to take someone else's fare 20 minutes ago.
distances 7y ago
I've been using MyTaxi app in Germany, and it seems to provide the same major upsides (map for pickup and destination, fare approximation known beforehand, pay via app). Feels more trustworthy too.

kuzehanka 7y ago

I'm fine with Uber costing the same as a regular taxi. Riding in a taxi is a garbage experience compared to uber. Drivers making excuses not to take you after learning your destination, rude drivers, drivers who have no clue how to navigate, drivers who pretend the card machine is broken, or try to take you on winding routes to increase the fare. Despite all the supposed downsides of ridesharing, it continues to be immensely more popular than the traditional taxi service even as the price gap closes. Because the traditional taxi service is a garbage rent seeking incumbent that needs to die for the good of all. I catch cabs or ridesharing on a daily basis for work, and cabs are just fucking awful compared to ridesharing.

amrx431 7y ago
This. Cabs that are not part of Uber, they just wont agree to take you. I still dont know these drivers rationale behind denying the ride. I understand its their prerogative to refuse a ride, but they do it so often which makes me wonder, how are they making money by refusing rides again and again.
zaarn 7y ago
In my country, a taxi driver is legally required to drive you to your destination unless it exceeds reasonable distances (around 50km, which far above what anyone would use a taxi for here). Drivers with broken cashier machines or taxameters aren't allowed to take passengers, especially a broken taxameter might mean that passenger will pay a very much reduced fare. Most of them have GPS, and if they don't they can be liable for excess distance travelled. Most taxi services here have excellent apps themselves and are cheaper than what Uber offered while they were allowed to operate (they are not just a glorified taxi service since non-taxi drivers aren't allowed on their service).
- kuzehanka 7y ago
  In my country, the driver is also legally required to drive you to your destination. It doesn't stop them from making random excuses like 'oh sorry my gps is broken'. That is an actual excuse I got from not one but two cab drivers in a row when travelling between offices in the city.

randyrand 7y ago

Taxis had artificially restricted supply. I think you're forgetting how expensive taxis were. https://www.theawl.com/2012/07/how-much-more-do-taxi-fares-cost-today/ https://www.theawl.com/2012/07/how-much-more-do-taxi-fares-c... 2012 $2.50 first 1/5 mi. $2.50 per mile. $0.50 per 1 min. uberX 2019 (without counting inflation - ~10% since 2012): Per Minute: $0.66 Per Mile: $1.46 Minimum Fare: $7.19 Taxis are competitive for very short trips, but 3+ miles they're almost double (175%)!

gnopgnip 7y ago
Uber pricing is not actually based on the distance and time for most trips, it is a set amount decided ahead of time, usually much more than that base cost.
- balfirevic 7y ago
  Not where I live, here it's entirely based on distance and time except for rides to the airport.