4 ms·

And what was Uber aggressive levels of cultural ignorance?

donw 6y ago
When Uber came to Japan, they pushed heavily on their three main points: - Uber is convenient. - Uber is safe. - Uber is clean. Japanese taxis are (a) everywhere; (b) probably about the safest form of transport that doesn't have armor plating; and (c) likely cleaner than a Blue Cross operating theater. Moreover, ride-sharing is a non-starter in Japan. People in cities... don't own cars. People outside the city... already have a car.
- thaumasiotes 6y ago
  > Moreover, ride-sharing is a non-starter in Japan. People in cities... don't own cars. People outside the city... already have a car. I mean, you can make this exact point about the US, but Uber wasn't a non-starter there. You can make it even more strongly about China, where owning a car is pretty expensive, but getting a license plate that allows you to drive the car is prohibitive to nearly everybody. But ride-sharing took off there too. "People in cities don't have cars" is the problem that Uber solves. It's not something that threatens their business, it's something their business depends on.
  - donw 6y ago
    People in US cities do have cars. They're parked everywhere in San Francisco, the streets of New York are filled with them. And not just wealthy people -- if you live in Oakland, Queens, whatever, you likely know somebody with a car. Tokyoites do not own cars. I know a single person in my entire social graph that (a) lives in Tokyo, and (b) has a car. He's wealthy enough to buy a new BMW 5-Series every three years. Licenses are difficult to obtain. Plan USD 2000 plus six months of study and testing. The driving test is difficult. People do have licenses, but they rent a car for longer journeys, and take a taxi (or use the excellent public transit system) for anything in-town. E-bikes are becoming a big thing as well. Not to mention, Japanese culture is closed to strangers. The idea of letting a person you do not know into your car would be like walking into your friend's house with your shoes on: it's just not done.
    - thaumasiotes 6y ago
      > People in US cities do have cars. They're parked everywhere in San Francisco, the streets of New York are filled with them. This is equivocation. The streets of Shanghai are filled with cars. But you'd be crazy to claim that people in Shanghai have cars. Just enough of them do to fill the streets. That's almost nobody. Similarly, USD 2000 and six months is trivial compared to what it takes to get a Shanghai license plate. (Though a driver's license costs less money and probably a similar amount of time.)

donw 6y ago

When Uber came to Japan, they pushed heavily on their three main points: - Uber is convenient. - Uber is safe. - Uber is clean. Japanese taxis are (a) everywhere; (b) probably about the safest form of transport that doesn't have armor plating; and (c) likely cleaner than a Blue Cross operating theater. Moreover, ride-sharing is a non-starter in Japan. People in cities... don't own cars. People outside the city... already have a car.

thaumasiotes 6y ago
> Moreover, ride-sharing is a non-starter in Japan. People in cities... don't own cars. People outside the city... already have a car. I mean, you can make this exact point about the US, but Uber wasn't a non-starter there. You can make it even more strongly about China, where owning a car is pretty expensive, but getting a license plate that allows you to drive the car is prohibitive to nearly everybody. But ride-sharing took off there too. "People in cities don't have cars" is the problem that Uber solves. It's not something that threatens their business, it's something their business depends on.
- donw 6y ago
  People in US cities do have cars. They're parked everywhere in San Francisco, the streets of New York are filled with them. And not just wealthy people -- if you live in Oakland, Queens, whatever, you likely know somebody with a car. Tokyoites do not own cars. I know a single person in my entire social graph that (a) lives in Tokyo, and (b) has a car. He's wealthy enough to buy a new BMW 5-Series every three years. Licenses are difficult to obtain. Plan USD 2000 plus six months of study and testing. The driving test is difficult. People do have licenses, but they rent a car for longer journeys, and take a taxi (or use the excellent public transit system) for anything in-town. E-bikes are becoming a big thing as well. Not to mention, Japanese culture is closed to strangers. The idea of letting a person you do not know into your car would be like walking into your friend's house with your shoes on: it's just not done.
  - thaumasiotes 6y ago
    > People in US cities do have cars. They're parked everywhere in San Francisco, the streets of New York are filled with them. This is equivocation. The streets of Shanghai are filled with cars. But you'd be crazy to claim that people in Shanghai have cars. Just enough of them do to fill the streets. That's almost nobody. Similarly, USD 2000 and six months is trivial compared to what it takes to get a Shanghai license plate. (Though a driver's license costs less money and probably a similar amount of time.)