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Have you ever used Uber? Did you ever use Taxis back when they existed? It's astonishing to me how much better Uber is than Taxis, there's no question that they

Have you ever used Uber? Did you ever use Taxis back when they existed? It's astonishing to me how much better Uber is than Taxis, there's no question that they're adding a ton of value compared to what they're replace, at least for me as a consumer. But I hardly think I'm alone in this. On the other-hand will they be able to profit from this value? That's at best tbd, and likely already a conclusive no, they've built a valuable commodity, that people aren't even used to paying commodity prices for because it's been VC subsidized for so long. So I can't agree with the adding no value comment, but I don't think the valuation is correct.

JohnFen 7y ago
> Have you ever used Uber? Did you ever use Taxis back when they existed? Yes, and yes, but (at least where I live), the Uber/Lyft "experience" is not superior to the taxis at all.
- jdoliner 7y ago
  Fair enough, and sorry if that came off as condescending. Everywhere I've lived (SF and Chicago) Taxis are completely unusable, I'd call dispatch to request one and maybe get one an hour later. The value of Uber/Lyft to me is mostly just that it's a Taxi that works.
  - JohnFen 7y ago
    Yes, I know from experience that there are parts of the US where taxis are simply awful. But that's not true everywhere. Where I live, the taxi companies have their own apps that you can use if you prefer (complete with being able to see where the cab is in realtime), and when you call, you'll usually get a cab within 15 minutes. Aside from price, there literally isn't anything that Uber or Lyft does that the cab companies don't do at least equally well.
xxs 7y ago
I guess it depends where you live. I used (15y+ ago) to go to work and back by taxi every day for years. Recently (last 2-3y) I got taxi on occasionally; also living in a different area. No real difference with app based ones except for the payment methods. That's it, no need to pay anything for app-based ones (not uber) in the taxi, immediately. That makes the ride shorter and I don't need to care if the taxi will be equipped with a POS terminal as I seldom carry cash.

JohnFen 7y ago

> Have you ever used Uber? Did you ever use Taxis back when they existed? Yes, and yes, but (at least where I live), the Uber/Lyft "experience" is not superior to the taxis at all.

jdoliner 7y ago
Fair enough, and sorry if that came off as condescending. Everywhere I've lived (SF and Chicago) Taxis are completely unusable, I'd call dispatch to request one and maybe get one an hour later. The value of Uber/Lyft to me is mostly just that it's a Taxi that works.
- JohnFen 7y ago
  Yes, I know from experience that there are parts of the US where taxis are simply awful. But that's not true everywhere. Where I live, the taxi companies have their own apps that you can use if you prefer (complete with being able to see where the cab is in realtime), and when you call, you'll usually get a cab within 15 minutes. Aside from price, there literally isn't anything that Uber or Lyft does that the cab companies don't do at least equally well.

xxs 7y ago

I guess it depends where you live. I used (15y+ ago) to go to work and back by taxi every day for years. Recently (last 2-3y) I got taxi on occasionally; also living in a different area. No real difference with app based ones except for the payment methods. That's it, no need to pay anything for app-based ones (not uber) in the taxi, immediately. That makes the ride shorter and I don't need to care if the taxi will be equipped with a POS terminal as I seldom carry cash.