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If you only need a car for 10% of trips, why not take taxis? It would likely be cheaper and easier (no hassles with parking in the city).

by rtlfe 6y ago

freehunter 6y ago
Also if you only need a car for 10% of trips, renting might be cheaper than buying. I don’t own a pickup truck because I rarely need one, but when I do need one I rent one from Lowes or U-Haul.
- tgsovlerkhgsel 6y ago
  The problem with that is the additional friction. If I could rent a car and it arrived in front of my house, no need to own. But if the nearest car sharing station is 15 minutes away, that just added 30 minutes to every car trip, on top of the friction that comes with such systems. That's where self-driving cars may be able to make a huge difference.
AlotOfReading 6y ago
That's exactly the point. There's a long tail where electric assist bikes and transit aren't ideal options, which is exactly the market where Cruise is trying to fit. Personally, I did use ride shares, but there was enough need for me that the math worked out for personal ownership.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
bluGill 6y ago
taxies are not cheap. Just a weekly grocery run for a month is more then my monthly expenses in my paid for car (gas, maintenance, and insurance). A few more other trips and a car is cheaper. That is before we get into my last taxi was driven by a smoker, and a window was broke on the car. (uber might do better now, but as all uber critics note uber fares don't pay the driver a living wage after real expenses, and thus only work out if you have the car anyway) It can work out, it depends. How often do you need to use the taxi to not inconvenience your lifestyle? Are you the type that would have a new car or used car? more expensive. Would you do your own car maintenance? Do you life to vacation in remote places where you would have to rent a car? Do you have kids (no taxi has a car seat). How good is the local transit service? Is parking "free" with wherever you live and go (use it or not)? I'm sure there is more.
- rtlfe 6y ago
  Depends where you live. For me, an Uber Pool to the nearest grocery store is about $5. I could do 40 round trips a month for the cost of insurance and a parking spot.
- asdff 6y ago
  If you only need it for a couple of runs, compared to gas, price of the car, maintenance, registration, and most importantly insurance, I would be surprised if you didn't come out ahead being a transit weekday commuter and a ride share user for all your edge cases in every city in the U.S.

If you only need a car for 10% of trips, why not take taxis? It would likely be cheaper and easier (no hassles with parking in the city).

by rtlfe 6y ago

If you only need a car for 10% of trips, why not take taxis? It would likely be cheaper and easier (no hassles with parking in the city).

freehunter 6y ago

Also if you only need a car for 10% of trips, renting might be cheaper than buying. I don’t own a pickup truck because I rarely need one, but when I do need one I rent one from Lowes or U-Haul.

tgsovlerkhgsel 6y ago
The problem with that is the additional friction. If I could rent a car and it arrived in front of my house, no need to own. But if the nearest car sharing station is 15 minutes away, that just added 30 minutes to every car trip, on top of the friction that comes with such systems. That's where self-driving cars may be able to make a huge difference.

AlotOfReading 6y ago

That's exactly the point. There's a long tail where electric assist bikes and transit aren't ideal options, which is exactly the market where Cruise is trying to fit. Personally, I did use ride shares, but there was enough need for me that the math worked out for personal ownership.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

bluGill 6y ago

taxies are not cheap. Just a weekly grocery run for a month is more then my monthly expenses in my paid for car (gas, maintenance, and insurance). A few more other trips and a car is cheaper. That is before we get into my last taxi was driven by a smoker, and a window was broke on the car. (uber might do better now, but as all uber critics note uber fares don't pay the driver a living wage after real expenses, and thus only work out if you have the car anyway) It can work out, it depends. How often do you need to use the taxi to not inconvenience your lifestyle? Are you the type that would have a new car or used car? more expensive. Would you do your own car maintenance? Do you life to vacation in remote places where you would have to rent a car? Do you have kids (no taxi has a car seat). How good is the local transit service? Is parking "free" with wherever you live and go (use it or not)? I'm sure there is more.

rtlfe 6y ago
Depends where you live. For me, an Uber Pool to the nearest grocery store is about $5. I could do 40 round trips a month for the cost of insurance and a parking spot.
asdff 6y ago
If you only need it for a couple of runs, compared to gas, price of the car, maintenance, registration, and most importantly insurance, I would be surprised if you didn't come out ahead being a transit weekday commuter and a ride share user for all your edge cases in every city in the U.S.