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> They definitely save time and money. The only way someone can claim they don't is if they've never actually had to travel and use taxis. To be fair, the auth

> They definitely save time and money. The only way someone can claim they don't is if they've never actually had to travel and use taxis. To be fair, the author had a very specific use case with respect to cost and time, with well known fares and availability from the airport to home. But I think the author would agree with most of your points, it goes on for a bit about how much she does not like Taxis. The interesting claim is the one about eco friendliness and how much driving around without a fare, or going to a fare Uber takes up.

tristor 5y ago
I don't think Uber can ever be eco-friendly, because my American-centric point of view is that anything which makes long-distance travel situations easier encourages long distance travel by lowering the barrier and the carbon footprint of long distance travel is inherently atrocious. I, like almost all Americans, own a personal vehicle, so the only time I would use Uber is if I'm traveling a long distance. The carbon footprint of my Uber is a tiny tiny tiny fraction of the carbon footprint of my trip. I do things like buy carbon offsets with my plane ticket to try to balance this out, but I am not ignorant of the environmental impact of international travel.
- rileymat2 5y ago
  That is fair, you are probably right. But the author is not making the claims, she is responding to claims made by Uber in the past. Specifically: >In 2015, Uber founder Travis Kalanick gave a TED talk in which he vowed the new rideshare business model would get “more people into fewer cars,” dramatically reduce air pollution and, as he put it, “reclaim our cities today.”
lhorie 5y ago
IMHO, the author is mostly reacting negatively to the price impact of two compounding issues that Uber/Lyft faced last year: the first is the out-of-whack supply/demand balance due to covid causing the current low supply of drivers (and a consequent increase in prices due to renewed demand), and the second is fallout of AB5/Prop22 (which netted an increased pay floor, which translated to higher prices in CA). A third factor is the companies' push towards profitability after their IPOs, which also undoubtedly makes a dent in the price calculations. The "planet" angle is IMHO grasping at straws to set a specific tone for the narrative, because frankly who thinks about that when taking a cab? If this wasn't just lip service and carbon emission/congestion actually mattered to her, there's public transit from LAX! I wrote in a comment downthread about an anecdote of a guy that had lost his job due to covid and had found an income safety net w/ Uber. You could argue that he contributes to carbon emissions/congestion by driving, but what exactly is the writer expecting the alternative to be? Sitting at home receiving free stimulus cheques? Working at McDonalds flipping infamously high CO2 producing beef patties? Working as... a cab driver for a cheaper fare for her exact use case, but still incurring roughly the same role in carbon footprint and congestion overall? Trying to twist "I want to have my cake (nice Uber experience) and eat it too (for cheap)" into "think of the environment" just seems like virtue signaling IMHO. She just saw two services that were functionally equivalent for her needs at different prices and took the cheaper one. Most of us would've probably done the same. This is a non-story.

tristor 5y ago

I don't think Uber can ever be eco-friendly, because my American-centric point of view is that anything which makes long-distance travel situations easier encourages long distance travel by lowering the barrier and the carbon footprint of long distance travel is inherently atrocious. I, like almost all Americans, own a personal vehicle, so the only time I would use Uber is if I'm traveling a long distance. The carbon footprint of my Uber is a tiny tiny tiny fraction of the carbon footprint of my trip. I do things like buy carbon offsets with my plane ticket to try to balance this out, but I am not ignorant of the environmental impact of international travel.

rileymat2 5y ago
That is fair, you are probably right. But the author is not making the claims, she is responding to claims made by Uber in the past. Specifically: >In 2015, Uber founder Travis Kalanick gave a TED talk in which he vowed the new rideshare business model would get “more people into fewer cars,” dramatically reduce air pollution and, as he put it, “reclaim our cities today.”

lhorie 5y ago

IMHO, the author is mostly reacting negatively to the price impact of two compounding issues that Uber/Lyft faced last year: the first is the out-of-whack supply/demand balance due to covid causing the current low supply of drivers (and a consequent increase in prices due to renewed demand), and the second is fallout of AB5/Prop22 (which netted an increased pay floor, which translated to higher prices in CA). A third factor is the companies' push towards profitability after their IPOs, which also undoubtedly makes a dent in the price calculations. The "planet" angle is IMHO grasping at straws to set a specific tone for the narrative, because frankly who thinks about that when taking a cab? If this wasn't just lip service and carbon emission/congestion actually mattered to her, there's public transit from LAX! I wrote in a comment downthread about an anecdote of a guy that had lost his job due to covid and had found an income safety net w/ Uber. You could argue that he contributes to carbon emissions/congestion by driving, but what exactly is the writer expecting the alternative to be? Sitting at home receiving free stimulus cheques? Working at McDonalds flipping infamously high CO2 producing beef patties? Working as... a cab driver for a cheaper fare for her exact use case, but still incurring roughly the same role in carbon footprint and congestion overall? Trying to twist "I want to have my cake (nice Uber experience) and eat it too (for cheap)" into "think of the environment" just seems like virtue signaling IMHO. She just saw two services that were functionally equivalent for her needs at different prices and took the cheaper one. Most of us would've probably done the same. This is a non-story.