7 ms·

have you ever wondered what makes services like Uber affordable? 1) underpaid drivers 2) VC money dropped into an otherwise unsustainable business I'm pretty s

have you ever wondered what makes services like Uber affordable? 1) underpaid drivers 2) VC money dropped into an otherwise unsustainable business I'm pretty sure Uber will raise prices the moment it kills the competition

maxehmookau 7y ago
They already have! Repeatedly. And lowered the cut paid to drivers.
harel 7y ago
That's why I differentiated my like and dislike. As a consumer, it's a service I use. I would use anyone who gave me that service and driver-mass. As a citizen of the net, I dislike them for their practices. But to be perfectly honest I rather call an uber than stand in the rain waiting for a black cab.
- thinkindie 7y ago
  i understand that, but we should also understand that black cabs don't have softbank showering billions to subside uber rides and at the same time squeeze any possible costs out of their drivers.
  - harel 7y ago
    I totally get that. And you know what, If black cabs were nicer, not THAT expensive, and, available(!) I'd be happy to use them. But they are, like all unionised services, stuck in the 70s. I don't mind paying more. I do mind paying a LOT more for less. I am totally aware Uber is subsidised. But what makes uber uber, is their availability and ease of use.
- tomatocracy 7y ago
  There are a couple of apps you can use to get a black cab. They help to avoid an annoying argument with the driver about cash vs card and you can wait inside until the cab arrives. Uber is still cheaper though (excepting surge pricing) and late at night both have patchy availability to be honest.
ApolloFortyNine 7y ago
> underpaid drivers This is and always will be a matter of opinion. Uber is not putting a gun to anyone's head. If it's not profitable for you to drive, you don't have to.
- criddell 7y ago
  Since drivers can't set their own rates, I've always felt the government should regulate the split. Uber's portion should be capped at something like 5%. The marginal cost for them to connect a driver to a rider is close to 0 so even 5% feels very generous.
  - ekianjo 7y ago
    That's not the job of the government to regulate margins of businesses. If you go by that way, then you might as well regulate every margin of every app store?
    - Endy 7y ago
      A great idea.
    - criddell 7y ago
      At least in the US, they do it all the time. The job of the government is mostly to do what we tell it to do because the government is just people from the community.
    - cartoonworld 7y ago
      That is the governments job. They aren't regulating an app on the store, they would be in this hypothetical scenario regulating the labor practices of a multinational corporation, which is for sure the job of any government.
    - buboard 7y ago
      Thats what taxation does anyway
    - 7y ago
jclos 7y ago
The affordability is only one thing that draws people to Uber. The convenience of the app and the fact that the fare is prepaid (and therefore there is no incentive for the driver to fuck around to inflate their fare) are imho at least as important. If the fare is known in advance I can make an informed decision about whether I can afford this ride. Taking a normal taxi is just always a gamble: will they try to win me over by taking the short route? Will they try to fuck me over? Will they get far and then say that they only accept cash, thus driving me to an ATM and charging even more? Who knows!
- Symbiote 7y ago
  In London, for decades there have been competing services to the black cabs: minicabs. They had to be booked in advance (by phone, but that translates easily to booking by app), and the price had to be agreed in advance. From my understanding, this might be called "limousine service" in the USA, although unless you make a special request it will just be a fairly normal car. Mobile phones and then apps made the border between the two services fuzzier, but they are still separate things.
  - SilasX 7y ago
    Stupid question: did they actually translate minicabs to an easy smartphone UX before Uber got involved?
    - Symbiote 7y ago
      I can't comment on "easy" (I never used it), but the largest company, Addison Lee, had an app in 2010, five years before Uber launched in London. https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240104764/iPhone-app-boosts-Addison-Lee-business-by-20-in-just-six-months https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240104764/iPhone-app-bo...
  - ghaff 7y ago
    "Limo service" in the US tends to mean a more upscale black car service. (Which is how Uber actually got started.) And, outside of markets like Manhattan, it usually requires booking a day or two in advance--although there's some flexibility, especially for regular customers.
mikojan 7y ago
3) Undermining the cartels of some of the most vulnerable sectors of society. 4) Shifting ressources from railway to road transit from the 1920s onwards as well as severe cuts to public transit in the 1960s and 1980s. That last point might seem like a long shot but I think it is accurate considering that the externalities of private transit are being paid by society as a whole.

maxehmookau 7y ago

They already have! Repeatedly. And lowered the cut paid to drivers.

harel 7y ago

That's why I differentiated my like and dislike. As a consumer, it's a service I use. I would use anyone who gave me that service and driver-mass. As a citizen of the net, I dislike them for their practices. But to be perfectly honest I rather call an uber than stand in the rain waiting for a black cab.

thinkindie 7y ago
i understand that, but we should also understand that black cabs don't have softbank showering billions to subside uber rides and at the same time squeeze any possible costs out of their drivers.
- harel 7y ago
  I totally get that. And you know what, If black cabs were nicer, not THAT expensive, and, available(!) I'd be happy to use them. But they are, like all unionised services, stuck in the 70s. I don't mind paying more. I do mind paying a LOT more for less. I am totally aware Uber is subsidised. But what makes uber uber, is their availability and ease of use.
tomatocracy 7y ago
There are a couple of apps you can use to get a black cab. They help to avoid an annoying argument with the driver about cash vs card and you can wait inside until the cab arrives. Uber is still cheaper though (excepting surge pricing) and late at night both have patchy availability to be honest.

ApolloFortyNine 7y ago

> underpaid drivers This is and always will be a matter of opinion. Uber is not putting a gun to anyone's head. If it's not profitable for you to drive, you don't have to.

criddell 7y ago
Since drivers can't set their own rates, I've always felt the government should regulate the split. Uber's portion should be capped at something like 5%. The marginal cost for them to connect a driver to a rider is close to 0 so even 5% feels very generous.
- ekianjo 7y ago
  That's not the job of the government to regulate margins of businesses. If you go by that way, then you might as well regulate every margin of every app store?
  - Endy 7y ago
    A great idea.
  - criddell 7y ago
    At least in the US, they do it all the time. The job of the government is mostly to do what we tell it to do because the government is just people from the community.
  - cartoonworld 7y ago
    That is the governments job. They aren't regulating an app on the store, they would be in this hypothetical scenario regulating the labor practices of a multinational corporation, which is for sure the job of any government.
  - buboard 7y ago
    Thats what taxation does anyway
  - 7y ago

jclos 7y ago

The affordability is only one thing that draws people to Uber. The convenience of the app and the fact that the fare is prepaid (and therefore there is no incentive for the driver to fuck around to inflate their fare) are imho at least as important. If the fare is known in advance I can make an informed decision about whether I can afford this ride. Taking a normal taxi is just always a gamble: will they try to win me over by taking the short route? Will they try to fuck me over? Will they get far and then say that they only accept cash, thus driving me to an ATM and charging even more? Who knows!

Symbiote 7y ago
In London, for decades there have been competing services to the black cabs: minicabs. They had to be booked in advance (by phone, but that translates easily to booking by app), and the price had to be agreed in advance. From my understanding, this might be called "limousine service" in the USA, although unless you make a special request it will just be a fairly normal car. Mobile phones and then apps made the border between the two services fuzzier, but they are still separate things.
- SilasX 7y ago
  Stupid question: did they actually translate minicabs to an easy smartphone UX before Uber got involved?
  - Symbiote 7y ago
    I can't comment on "easy" (I never used it), but the largest company, Addison Lee, had an app in 2010, five years before Uber launched in London. https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240104764/iPhone-app-boosts-Addison-Lee-business-by-20-in-just-six-months https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240104764/iPhone-app-bo...
- ghaff 7y ago
  "Limo service" in the US tends to mean a more upscale black car service. (Which is how Uber actually got started.) And, outside of markets like Manhattan, it usually requires booking a day or two in advance--although there's some flexibility, especially for regular customers.

mikojan 7y ago

3) Undermining the cartels of some of the most vulnerable sectors of society. 4) Shifting ressources from railway to road transit from the 1920s onwards as well as severe cuts to public transit in the 1960s and 1980s. That last point might seem like a long shot but I think it is accurate considering that the externalities of private transit are being paid by society as a whole.