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> I split time between at least two cities Please don't bring up minority use cases when discussing the average or modal use case.

by ovi256 5y ago

JumpCrisscross 5y ago
> don't bring up minority use cases There are a lot of minority use cases with cars. I suspect there are more, in aggregate, minority uses than there are cases in the mode. In any event, there is a massive non-extortive beachhead for this model, as deminstrared by Uber and Zipcar et al.
- Nullabillity 5y ago
  Uber is a great example of how this model ends up awful for both drivers (who get awful working conditions and usually end up making a lot less net than promised) and customers (who get an awful experience, end up paying a lot more than they would otherwise, and still aren't making progress towards getting rid of that extra expense).
  - sokoloff 5y ago
    As a consumer, Uber has been a massive win for me. We own two “daily” drivers, but going downtown or to the airport in an Uber is convenient and cheaper than parking downtown or at the airport. On trips to other cities, Uber is often way cheaper than cabs. I’ve never found Uber worse than cabs and maybe 1 in a 100 Ubers is dirty or smelly, reminding me of how awful cabs used to be about half the time. Many drivers seem about as happy as random workers in other industries but some seem quite a bit happier with their arrangement with Uber than most service workers seem to be.
    - iso1210 5y ago
      Uber is certainly a win in almost all cities - I can count on one hand the times I've had an issue with them (once in Singapore, once in Kenya), and I've used uber far more than legacy cabs (where I can think of all manner of issues - probably 1 in 6 or 1 in 7 journeys) Uber relies on the drivers underselling themselves though, which isn't good for society, but is great for the individual rider.
  - relativ575 5y ago
    As a somewhat frequent user, Uber's rides have always been good experience for me. Never awful. One of nicest things is you can use it in many countries, from the same app. Taxi is a scam in a lot of places. The complaint I have is that Uber pickup is sometimes unreliable. They may cancel after being connected, or they didn't wait at pickup points and left without contacting me.
    - Nullabillity 5y ago
      To be clear: my criticisms are primarily about taxis vs car ownership. Uber just cranks the taxi problems up to 11.
- ghaff 5y ago
  For me, living in an ex-urban area, I'm entirely car dependent so these services don't really matter when I'm at home. But I know a couple who moved to SF and gave up their cars and their lifestyle clearly wouldn't be possible without Uber and Zipcar.
afarrell 5y ago
To call something a "scam" says there is no honest use-case. Pointing out competing use-cases is directly refuting that. > In a swipe at Tesla, he said that by charging hourly fees, VW would make autonomous driving more accessible than “a car with a five-digit surcharge.” Especially if VW isn't actually "taking a swipe at" Tesla but instead going after a different market. It is like saying calling a bagel a counterfeit bowl of cereal.
tnzm 5y ago
Why? Does it threaten your sensibilities?

> I split time between at least two cities Please don't bring up minority use cases when discussing the average or modal use case.

by ovi256 5y ago

> I split time between at least two cities Please don't bring up minority use cases when discussing the average or modal use case.

JumpCrisscross 5y ago

> don't bring up minority use cases There are a lot of minority use cases with cars. I suspect there are more, in aggregate, minority uses than there are cases in the mode. In any event, there is a massive non-extortive beachhead for this model, as deminstrared by Uber and Zipcar et al.

Nullabillity 5y ago
Uber is a great example of how this model ends up awful for both drivers (who get awful working conditions and usually end up making a lot less net than promised) and customers (who get an awful experience, end up paying a lot more than they would otherwise, and still aren't making progress towards getting rid of that extra expense).
- sokoloff 5y ago
  As a consumer, Uber has been a massive win for me. We own two “daily” drivers, but going downtown or to the airport in an Uber is convenient and cheaper than parking downtown or at the airport. On trips to other cities, Uber is often way cheaper than cabs. I’ve never found Uber worse than cabs and maybe 1 in a 100 Ubers is dirty or smelly, reminding me of how awful cabs used to be about half the time. Many drivers seem about as happy as random workers in other industries but some seem quite a bit happier with their arrangement with Uber than most service workers seem to be.
  - iso1210 5y ago
    Uber is certainly a win in almost all cities - I can count on one hand the times I've had an issue with them (once in Singapore, once in Kenya), and I've used uber far more than legacy cabs (where I can think of all manner of issues - probably 1 in 6 or 1 in 7 journeys) Uber relies on the drivers underselling themselves though, which isn't good for society, but is great for the individual rider.
- relativ575 5y ago
  As a somewhat frequent user, Uber's rides have always been good experience for me. Never awful. One of nicest things is you can use it in many countries, from the same app. Taxi is a scam in a lot of places. The complaint I have is that Uber pickup is sometimes unreliable. They may cancel after being connected, or they didn't wait at pickup points and left without contacting me.
  - Nullabillity 5y ago
    To be clear: my criticisms are primarily about taxis vs car ownership. Uber just cranks the taxi problems up to 11.
ghaff 5y ago
For me, living in an ex-urban area, I'm entirely car dependent so these services don't really matter when I'm at home. But I know a couple who moved to SF and gave up their cars and their lifestyle clearly wouldn't be possible without Uber and Zipcar.

afarrell 5y ago

To call something a "scam" says there is no honest use-case. Pointing out competing use-cases is directly refuting that. > In a swipe at Tesla, he said that by charging hourly fees, VW would make autonomous driving more accessible than “a car with a five-digit surcharge.” Especially if VW isn't actually "taking a swipe at" Tesla but instead going after a different market. It is like saying calling a bagel a counterfeit bowl of cereal.

tnzm 5y ago

Why? Does it threaten your sensibilities?