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5. I don’t think you address issue with cherry picking the price with part timers. Which is I know is the real one, because I realized I did it myself and it’s

5. I don’t think you address issue with cherry picking the price with part timers. Which is I know is the real one, because I realized I did it myself and it’s not very fair. Your answer is more like “what about taxi services, they also have edge cases” 2. But there are also taxi services that allow you too book ahead of time. Many cities in Europe had phone booking of the taxi for specific times at least 20 years ago(not sure about before). The question is why NYC didn’t have it? But good points! Even if many are specific to New York

nine_k 5y ago
The idea is that Uber (and Lyft) which has issues pushed out another system, which had a different set of issues, more unpleasant to the passenger in the case NYC (I live here and I agree).
jmyeet 5y ago
I'm not ignoring the cherry-picking issue. I, as a passenger, do not care. Straight up. I consider this supply and demand and market pricing doing what it's supposed to. The tax medallion system was invented to solve such an oversupply problem. It led to times when it's impossible to get a taxi. Practically speaking, this just isn't a problem you can solve because you're trying to limit supply. If Uber starts giving preferential treatment to full-time or more "senior" drivers, the part-timers will simply go somewhere else and use another ride-sharing app. If you get Lyft and the other little apps to go along with this scheme, well then it's collusion. The only legal alternative is government regulation and legislation and that's not likely to make anybody happy. You will probably find those that operate a fleet through Uber (and are thus de facto taxi companies) will likely support such measures because it will allow them to exercise greater control and have more predictability over their drivers.
- wonnage 5y ago
  The problem is surge pricing isn't solving the underlying problem (i.e, undersupply of drivers). Uber recently moved to a model where the driver bonuses are disconnected from the actual surge amount: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/06/09/uber-lyft-drivers-price-hike/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/06/09/uber-ly... Presumably if surge was focused on maximizing completed trips, then the goal is to find a price that matches riders to drivers. In reality, riders are more interested in riding than drivers are in driving (this is how we got into this situation in the first place). You can easily charge 2x surge without killing demand, but supply won't rise by the corresponding amount. Uber found a way to take advantage of this - fixed bonuses to attract the same amount of supply as before, but now surge is an independent variable that they can fine-tune to demand. Your ride quality isn't improving with surge pricing, it's just getting more expensive.
chrischen 5y ago
I don’t get why cherry picking is a bad thing? If demand is high why not increase drivers? Should we screw over people who need rides instead?
- Jochim 5y ago
  The surge pricing model sounds like a great incentive but it's also very easily exploited. Drivers that would otherwise have chosen to work full time might choose to only work during surges, ultimately reducing the total capacity of the system and increasing prices. There are also reports of groups of drivers working together to manipulate the surge price in order to increase earnings[0]. [0] https://www.distractify.com/p/uber-surge-pricing-hack https://www.distractify.com/p/uber-surge-pricing-hack

nine_k 5y ago

The idea is that Uber (and Lyft) which has issues pushed out another system, which had a different set of issues, more unpleasant to the passenger in the case NYC (I live here and I agree).

jmyeet 5y ago

I'm not ignoring the cherry-picking issue. I, as a passenger, do not care. Straight up. I consider this supply and demand and market pricing doing what it's supposed to. The tax medallion system was invented to solve such an oversupply problem. It led to times when it's impossible to get a taxi. Practically speaking, this just isn't a problem you can solve because you're trying to limit supply. If Uber starts giving preferential treatment to full-time or more "senior" drivers, the part-timers will simply go somewhere else and use another ride-sharing app. If you get Lyft and the other little apps to go along with this scheme, well then it's collusion. The only legal alternative is government regulation and legislation and that's not likely to make anybody happy. You will probably find those that operate a fleet through Uber (and are thus de facto taxi companies) will likely support such measures because it will allow them to exercise greater control and have more predictability over their drivers.

wonnage 5y ago
The problem is surge pricing isn't solving the underlying problem (i.e, undersupply of drivers). Uber recently moved to a model where the driver bonuses are disconnected from the actual surge amount: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/06/09/uber-lyft-drivers-price-hike/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/06/09/uber-ly... Presumably if surge was focused on maximizing completed trips, then the goal is to find a price that matches riders to drivers. In reality, riders are more interested in riding than drivers are in driving (this is how we got into this situation in the first place). You can easily charge 2x surge without killing demand, but supply won't rise by the corresponding amount. Uber found a way to take advantage of this - fixed bonuses to attract the same amount of supply as before, but now surge is an independent variable that they can fine-tune to demand. Your ride quality isn't improving with surge pricing, it's just getting more expensive.

chrischen 5y ago

I don’t get why cherry picking is a bad thing? If demand is high why not increase drivers? Should we screw over people who need rides instead?

Jochim 5y ago
The surge pricing model sounds like a great incentive but it's also very easily exploited. Drivers that would otherwise have chosen to work full time might choose to only work during surges, ultimately reducing the total capacity of the system and increasing prices. There are also reports of groups of drivers working together to manipulate the surge price in order to increase earnings[0]. [0] https://www.distractify.com/p/uber-surge-pricing-hack https://www.distractify.com/p/uber-surge-pricing-hack