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Uber is probably the biggest pure example. When I was in uni when they first spread, Uber's entire business model was flood the market with hilariously low pric
by beezlebroxxxxxx 3y ago
Uber is probably the biggest pure example. When I was in uni when they first spread, Uber's entire business model was flood the market with hilariously low prices and steep discounts. People overnight started using them like crazy. They were practically giving away their product. Now, they're as expensive, if not sometimes more expensive, than any other taxi or ridesharing service in my area.
One thing I'll add is that it's not always that this ends with higher prices in an absolute sense, but that the tech company is able to essentially cut the knees out of their competitors until they're a shell of their former selves. Then when the prices go "up", they're in a way a return to the "norm", only they have a larger and dominant market share because of their crazy pricing in the early stages.
- wkat4242 3y agoYeah I kinda wonder why people even use them anymore. I've long gone back to real taxis because their cheaper and I don't have to book them, I can just grab one on the street. Much more efficient than waiting for slowly watching my driver edge his way to me from 3 kilometers away.
- jdminhbg 3y agoThe number of places where you can reliably walk out onto the street and hail a taxi is pretty small. Everywhere else, the relevant decision is whether calling a dispatcher or using a taxi company's app is faster/cheaper/more reliable than Uber/Lyft.
- pests 3y agoLiving in the Detroit Metro area seeing that interaction in movies always blew my mind. Just walk outside and get a taxi? Crazy talk.
- wkat4242 3y agoHere in Barcelona it works like that. 2-3 free taxis pass my place per minute or so. Just wave and you've got one. They're also very cheap. But yeah the movie thing is not at all unrealistic here. Though at night I usually wave the torch on my phone to attract attention because they don't always see a raised hand.
- wkat4242 3y agoHere in Barcelona it's great, I really never have to call one. It's always faster just waiting. At the busiest time it's a bit harder but at that time the ride-sharing services are also overloaded so it's still faster to just wait for a green light (free taxi). We don't get Uber as far as I know but we do have a similar thing called Cabify. But it's useless if you need something quick and they've put the prices up too much. I now only use them for scheduled stuff like airport dropoffs.
- Turing_Machine 3y agoI think the cab companies here have apps. I don't know how good they are, though I've been meaning to find out. There's no way I want to ever wait on hold for a dispatcher again, or be mystified as to when my cab is arriving (this always seems to involve standing outside in the snow or pouring rain). If the cab companies have apps comparable to Uber and Lyft, sure, I'll give them a shot.
- golergka 3y ago"Uber/Airbnb is expensive now" is an entirely american phenomena. In Europe and Latin America, both are still cheaper than alternative (comparable hotels and yellow cabs). Most likely in other parts of the world too.