3 ms·

Yeah it's funny how for example, Uber kind of followed a curve. It started out, in NYC at least, as a luxury "black car" replacement. Then it got flooded with

Yeah it's funny how for example, Uber kind of followed a curve. It started out, in NYC at least, as a luxury "black car" replacement. Then it got flooded with the cheaper tiers, and it was hard to understand how anyone was making money - the drivers, the company etc. And they weren't! Now its more expensive than ever and generally far cheaper to get a yellow cab again.

ChadNauseam 3y ago
The drivers were obviously making money, or they wouldn’t be driving
- spaceman_2020 3y ago
  “The slaves must obviously be happy, or they wouldn’t be singing songs”
  - treis 3y ago
    There's no masters with whips forcing Uber drivers to drive.
    - asadotzler 3y ago
      Actually, yes, there are. They're called landlords and health insurance companies. When your literal life is in someone else's hands, you do what you need to satisfy them.
      - treis 3y ago
        That's not the same as being owned as literal property. Don't be ridiculous.
- fullshark 3y ago
  Potentially they were/are trading long term depreciation on their vehicle, as well as the opportunity cost of working for a traditional employer for short term cash infusions and not really making any money.
- monocasa 3y ago
  Or the costs to them are so abstracted that it's difficult for them to add it all together including gas, commercial insurance (or probability of a situation with liability or damages with no insurance coverage), depreciation of the car, etc.
- steveBK123 3y ago
  The drivers are for sure making money now. But there was a long period where the rides were like 80% cheaper than they are now, in which they clearly were not, all-in if they ran the math. The problem is between the variability, Uber sign on bonuses, insurance arb, bad bookkeeping on their vehicle wear&tear.. it likely wasn't transparent for them. Basically they had positive looking cashflow I'm sure, but had large unpredictable costs that likely set their hourly rate below minimum wage.
  - monocasa 3y ago
    Also, the rate the drivers get is pretty much inversely related to the rates the consumer has been seeing. I've heard from many drivers that their pay has dropped considerably podt-IPO. When the services were trying to corner the market with investor money, they subsidized both consumer and driver. Now that money has dried up and the services are predictably squeezing both sides of the equation.
MAGZine 3y ago
i actually prefer yellow cab. even though my uber rating is in the top 1%, I'd rather not have to worry about annoying the driver, not accidentally closing the door too hard, making sure to not keep the driver waiting, being responsible for everyone I'm riding with, etc. When I'm ready for a car, I walk outside, stick up my hand, get in, and go. Unfortunately really only works in nyc though. and yes, cheaper. :-)
- steveBK123 3y ago
  I was joking with a friend recently that Uber needs an "Uber black NON-SUV" option in addition to "Uber Black" and "Uber Black SUV". On NYC streets, the "luxury" Chevy suburbans / escalades / whatever are atrocious and nearly make me car sick.
  - MAGZine 3y ago
    for a while I do believe 'town car' was actually an option.
- zeroonetwothree 3y ago
  Last time I took a cab (a few weeks ago) my friend spent 5 min negotiating at the beginning, then it took a while to explain to the driver where to go and he got lost anyway. So yeah that doesn’t really make me want to stop using Uber in the future.

ChadNauseam 3y ago

The drivers were obviously making money, or they wouldn’t be driving

spaceman_2020 3y ago
“The slaves must obviously be happy, or they wouldn’t be singing songs”
- treis 3y ago
  There's no masters with whips forcing Uber drivers to drive.
  - asadotzler 3y ago
    Actually, yes, there are. They're called landlords and health insurance companies. When your literal life is in someone else's hands, you do what you need to satisfy them.
    - treis 3y ago
      That's not the same as being owned as literal property. Don't be ridiculous.
fullshark 3y ago
Potentially they were/are trading long term depreciation on their vehicle, as well as the opportunity cost of working for a traditional employer for short term cash infusions and not really making any money.
monocasa 3y ago
Or the costs to them are so abstracted that it's difficult for them to add it all together including gas, commercial insurance (or probability of a situation with liability or damages with no insurance coverage), depreciation of the car, etc.
steveBK123 3y ago
The drivers are for sure making money now. But there was a long period where the rides were like 80% cheaper than they are now, in which they clearly were not, all-in if they ran the math. The problem is between the variability, Uber sign on bonuses, insurance arb, bad bookkeeping on their vehicle wear&tear.. it likely wasn't transparent for them. Basically they had positive looking cashflow I'm sure, but had large unpredictable costs that likely set their hourly rate below minimum wage.
- monocasa 3y ago
  Also, the rate the drivers get is pretty much inversely related to the rates the consumer has been seeing. I've heard from many drivers that their pay has dropped considerably podt-IPO. When the services were trying to corner the market with investor money, they subsidized both consumer and driver. Now that money has dried up and the services are predictably squeezing both sides of the equation.

MAGZine 3y ago

i actually prefer yellow cab. even though my uber rating is in the top 1%, I'd rather not have to worry about annoying the driver, not accidentally closing the door too hard, making sure to not keep the driver waiting, being responsible for everyone I'm riding with, etc. When I'm ready for a car, I walk outside, stick up my hand, get in, and go. Unfortunately really only works in nyc though. and yes, cheaper. :-)

steveBK123 3y ago
I was joking with a friend recently that Uber needs an "Uber black NON-SUV" option in addition to "Uber Black" and "Uber Black SUV". On NYC streets, the "luxury" Chevy suburbans / escalades / whatever are atrocious and nearly make me car sick.
- MAGZine 3y ago
  for a while I do believe 'town car' was actually an option.
zeroonetwothree 3y ago
Last time I took a cab (a few weeks ago) my friend spent 5 min negotiating at the beginning, then it took a while to explain to the driver where to go and he got lost anyway. So yeah that doesn’t really make me want to stop using Uber in the future.