6 ms·

Airbnb is arguably something that didn't have any real net benefit to society yes. I am conflicted about uber though. Many, many people I know (mostly women) h

Airbnb is arguably something that didn't have any real net benefit to society yes. I am conflicted about uber though. Many, many people I know (mostly women) have had their life completely transformed post uber. It ushered in a mobility revolution that would likely only be smaller than the car or bicycle in terms of liberating some populations and increasing their freedom. It was all built on lies and masquerades though. Perhaps that's not new however? All of history seems to have been built on ideas that robbed Paul to pay Peter anyways.

Matheus28 3y ago
Uber was also amazing for travelers. No need to worry about the taxi driver looping around the city to run up the meter just because you aren’t from there.
- red-iron-pine 3y ago
  Was that a function of Uber and ride sharing? Or just having a GPS-connected app that you can track? Plenty of cab companies are following suit w/ GPS systems.
  - smsm42 3y ago
    It's not only tracking. It's convenience of ordering, and paying, and knowing in advance how much it's going to cost, etc. Sure, I've seen taxi apps doing that too but it always been hit or miss whether particular app works in particular city and has a good sized fleet there.
- Shawnj2 3y ago
  As is Uber is a vastly better product than current taxi services.
- WorldMaker 3y ago
  "Computer-dispatched" taxi companies existed before Uber. They had numbers you could call to verify that your route didn't go the wrong way and they'd have guarantees to refund you if they found the taxi driver had done something wrong. Uber didn't invent that.
  - Gunnerhead 3y ago
    Hmm, never heard of them in my city but instead always had to deal with sketch taxis who credit card reader was “broken”.
    - WorldMaker 3y ago
      Yeah, as with nearly anything taxi-related it was definitely a city-by-city thing to find/evaluate. There was at least one big franchise you could count on to be "computer-dispatched" in several cities, in my experience, if you knew to look for it. Unfortunately, Uber disrupting the traditional taxi companies also has seemed to have disrupted that franchise and the situation actually seems worse today than before Uber existed from that perspective.
- yencabulator 3y ago
  I'd argue the real transformation of that was really phones with GPS maps. These days, the tourist is more likely to notice they're being scammed by long detours.
- hintymad 3y ago
  A good example: I arrived at Budapest's train station. I asked a taxi driver if he'd take me to my hotel. The driver asked me about the address, and said 35 euros. It sounded fishy, so I pulled out Bolt. It turned out it would cost me only 8 euros. From then on, I didn't bother to talk to any taxi driver. Just Bolt whenever I need a taxi.
treeman79 3y ago
Got injured (brain). Airbnb and Uber eats is how I kept my family from being homeless until I recovered enough to program again. Huge advantage being able to go at my own pace when I didn’t know how functional I would be on any given day Not saying it’s a good company, but saved my family.
- andy_ppp 3y ago
  Make sure you’re taking creatine daily, some very promising data around brain injuries and I think it won’t do any harm. Hope you feel better soon.
  - pavel_lishin 3y ago
    Don't forget to give her Smeckler's powder
    - andy_ppp 3y ago
      See my sibling comment about the promising research and thanks a lot for the snarky, uninformed response.
      - pavel_lishin 3y ago
        You're welcome! It is generally wildly unwise and rude to give medical advice based on three words in a comment, so I shan't be apologizing.
        andy_ppp 3y ago
        Maybe you are right, but there are ways to communicate your feedback to people without being unwise and rude yourself.
  - andy_ppp 3y ago
    Some papers supporting this, in humans: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209321/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209321/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6094347/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6094347/ https://journals.lww.com/jtrauma/Abstract/2006/08000/Prevention_of_Complications_Related_to_Traumatic.11.aspx https://journals.lww.com/jtrauma/Abstract/2006/08000/Prevent... https://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/full/10.2217/cnc-2016-0016 https://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/full/10.2217/cnc-2016-001... https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17461391.2018.1500644 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17461391.2018.15...
Name_Chawps 3y ago
I imagine there are hundreds fewer drunk driving deaths due to Uber, too.
- MisterTea 3y ago
  Cabs and car service existed long before Uber. Bars almost always have a list of car and cab services plus the bartender can call you a cab if you're too drunk to call yourself. Seen it plenty of times.
  - rrrrrrrrrrrryan 3y ago
    While true, recent studies show that ride-sharing apps reduced deaths due to intoxicated driving by over 6%, which amounts to hundreds of lives per year.
  - The_Colonel 3y ago
    Cabs and Uber are in theory very similar, but in practice the small details amount to a game changer. I've always avoided Cabs (largely because of lack of trust), while Uber basically fixes cabs' problems for me.
    - JohnFen 3y ago
      Trust is a funny thing. I avoid the likes of Uber due to a complete lack of trust.
    - MisterTea 3y ago
      > I've always avoided Cabs (largely because of lack of trust), while Uber basically fixes cabs' problems for me. I can say with confidence that I don't trust an Uber driver any more than a car/cab driver. Sure, ive been in sketch cabs and cars with intoxicated drivers or some dick who runs the meter up after you fall asleep - those are rare and I can count them on one hand. Uber gives you the illusion of being abetter cab service while being markedly worse in some ways. Okay, you voted out a shitty driver with one star - there are a 1000 more waiting to fill that position. I've been in numerous filthy Ubers, drivers who are possibly intoxicated, drivers who got their license in a cereal box, and cars who's mechanical status is questionable (severely worn suspension, squealing brakes, etc.) You vote one out and another scurries in. Don't get me wrong, I use Uber and Lyft mostly because its tough getting car service as many went out of business. But its no utopia and the safety and quality of the rides is not better in any way.
AlgorithmicTime 3y ago
[dead]

Matheus28 3y ago

Uber was also amazing for travelers. No need to worry about the taxi driver looping around the city to run up the meter just because you aren’t from there.

red-iron-pine 3y ago
Was that a function of Uber and ride sharing? Or just having a GPS-connected app that you can track? Plenty of cab companies are following suit w/ GPS systems.
- smsm42 3y ago
  It's not only tracking. It's convenience of ordering, and paying, and knowing in advance how much it's going to cost, etc. Sure, I've seen taxi apps doing that too but it always been hit or miss whether particular app works in particular city and has a good sized fleet there.
Shawnj2 3y ago
As is Uber is a vastly better product than current taxi services.
WorldMaker 3y ago
"Computer-dispatched" taxi companies existed before Uber. They had numbers you could call to verify that your route didn't go the wrong way and they'd have guarantees to refund you if they found the taxi driver had done something wrong. Uber didn't invent that.
- Gunnerhead 3y ago
  Hmm, never heard of them in my city but instead always had to deal with sketch taxis who credit card reader was “broken”.
  - WorldMaker 3y ago
    Yeah, as with nearly anything taxi-related it was definitely a city-by-city thing to find/evaluate. There was at least one big franchise you could count on to be "computer-dispatched" in several cities, in my experience, if you knew to look for it. Unfortunately, Uber disrupting the traditional taxi companies also has seemed to have disrupted that franchise and the situation actually seems worse today than before Uber existed from that perspective.
yencabulator 3y ago
I'd argue the real transformation of that was really phones with GPS maps. These days, the tourist is more likely to notice they're being scammed by long detours.
hintymad 3y ago
A good example: I arrived at Budapest's train station. I asked a taxi driver if he'd take me to my hotel. The driver asked me about the address, and said 35 euros. It sounded fishy, so I pulled out Bolt. It turned out it would cost me only 8 euros. From then on, I didn't bother to talk to any taxi driver. Just Bolt whenever I need a taxi.

treeman79 3y ago

Got injured (brain). Airbnb and Uber eats is how I kept my family from being homeless until I recovered enough to program again. Huge advantage being able to go at my own pace when I didn’t know how functional I would be on any given day Not saying it’s a good company, but saved my family.

andy_ppp 3y ago
Make sure you’re taking creatine daily, some very promising data around brain injuries and I think it won’t do any harm. Hope you feel better soon.
- pavel_lishin 3y ago
  Don't forget to give her Smeckler's powder
  - andy_ppp 3y ago
    See my sibling comment about the promising research and thanks a lot for the snarky, uninformed response.
    - pavel_lishin 3y ago
      You're welcome! It is generally wildly unwise and rude to give medical advice based on three words in a comment, so I shan't be apologizing.
      - andy_ppp 3y ago
        Maybe you are right, but there are ways to communicate your feedback to people without being unwise and rude yourself.
- andy_ppp 3y ago
  Some papers supporting this, in humans: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209321/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209321/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6094347/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6094347/ https://journals.lww.com/jtrauma/Abstract/2006/08000/Prevention_of_Complications_Related_to_Traumatic.11.aspx https://journals.lww.com/jtrauma/Abstract/2006/08000/Prevent... https://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/full/10.2217/cnc-2016-0016 https://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/full/10.2217/cnc-2016-001... https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17461391.2018.1500644 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17461391.2018.15...

Name_Chawps 3y ago

I imagine there are hundreds fewer drunk driving deaths due to Uber, too.

MisterTea 3y ago
Cabs and car service existed long before Uber. Bars almost always have a list of car and cab services plus the bartender can call you a cab if you're too drunk to call yourself. Seen it plenty of times.
- rrrrrrrrrrrryan 3y ago
  While true, recent studies show that ride-sharing apps reduced deaths due to intoxicated driving by over 6%, which amounts to hundreds of lives per year.
- The_Colonel 3y ago
  Cabs and Uber are in theory very similar, but in practice the small details amount to a game changer. I've always avoided Cabs (largely because of lack of trust), while Uber basically fixes cabs' problems for me.
  - JohnFen 3y ago
    Trust is a funny thing. I avoid the likes of Uber due to a complete lack of trust.
  - MisterTea 3y ago
    > I've always avoided Cabs (largely because of lack of trust), while Uber basically fixes cabs' problems for me. I can say with confidence that I don't trust an Uber driver any more than a car/cab driver. Sure, ive been in sketch cabs and cars with intoxicated drivers or some dick who runs the meter up after you fall asleep - those are rare and I can count them on one hand. Uber gives you the illusion of being abetter cab service while being markedly worse in some ways. Okay, you voted out a shitty driver with one star - there are a 1000 more waiting to fill that position. I've been in numerous filthy Ubers, drivers who are possibly intoxicated, drivers who got their license in a cereal box, and cars who's mechanical status is questionable (severely worn suspension, squealing brakes, etc.) You vote one out and another scurries in. Don't get me wrong, I use Uber and Lyft mostly because its tough getting car service as many went out of business. But its no utopia and the safety and quality of the rides is not better in any way.

AlgorithmicTime 3y ago

[dead]