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Except at some level you do obviously believe that using the app was worth $57, because you didn't end the story by saying you called a cab company and got a bi

Except at some level you do obviously believe that using the app was worth $57, because you didn't end the story by saying you called a cab company and got a big discount by doing it the old fashioned way. OR could it be that the scheduling, summoning, and advertising infrastructure is actually close to 60% of the cost, and the added convenience of the app is in fact worth the difference in price?

riffraff 1y ago
Taxi could be more expensive than Uber for the same reason AirBnB is cheaper than hotels: they do not respect the same standards (e.g. insurance, worker rights, etc). Not same this is the case, but there's more than convenience embedded in markets.
ngangaga 1y ago
> Except at some level you do obviously believe that using the app was worth $57 That's ridiculous. "because you didn't end the story by saying you called a cab company and got a big discount by doing it the old fashioned way." is just bad-faith weaseling. Uber is worse in every way than the taxi stands that used to be at airports; now you hail a car via an expensive app and have to wait for them to all jockey to where you are if they don't bail on the way. Taxi stands still make the most sense at events and leaving mass transit and that's even before considering the ridiculous cost. Visiting europe felt like a breath of fresh air in comparison—technically they have uber, but there was no point in using it because taxis were so prevalent, reliable, and cheap.
- chgs 1y ago
  Part time I went to Paris I had a 30 minute wait for a taxi at Gare du Nord. However last time I was as Dulles I wanted straight into a taxi, having been burnt the previous time when I ordered uber while going through customs and had to wait for ages. At Singapore Changi taxi queues can take ages, or no time at all. In Kenya I waited for an uber for 40 minutes to have it cancelled by the driver as I saw him get close to the airport, with a message saying he had “been arrested”. I don’t bother with uber in the U.K. any more - very rarely works. Used to be nice and reliable in cities It was in, about 10 years ago. You can’t draw a conclusion based on personal annecdotes.
  - ngangaga 1y ago
    Hm, fair enough. Oddly Dulles is my local airport and I wasn't able to find any taxis the last time I flew in. Clearly I'm looking in the wrong place.
- thaumasiotes 1y ago
  > Visiting europe felt like a breath of fresh air in comparison—technically they have uber, but there was no point in using it because taxis were so prevalent, reliable, and cheap. Taxis in Shanghai have been largely replaced by app-related taxis. I have no particular knowledge of whether this moved prices up or down. But there are two obvious changes: 1. It's now possible to get a taxi when it's raining. 2. The app drivers feel free to smoke. Point 2 is a negative, but point 1 is a huge positive. How do European taxis respond to the rain?
  - ngangaga 1y ago
    TBH, Uber wouldn't be so much of a problem with decent competition. But the critical mass required for a transit app is quite difficult to establish, and Lyft offers essentially the same deal with a slightly better margin for drivers. It's a de-facto duopoly here in the US where the two companies are incentivized to drive prices as high as the market will sustain, and the local apps (for instance we have one here in DC that is a co-op) are often legislated out of existence. > Taxis in Shanghai have been largely replaced by app-related taxis. The APP itself isn't the issue, it's the pricing. But it sounds like China has a much healthier market than we have. > 1. It's now possible to get a taxi when it's raining. Why would this make so much of a difference? I'm very curious.
    - thaumasiotes 1y ago
      >> 1. It's now possible to get a taxi when it's raining. > Why would this make so much of a difference? I'm very curious. I have no idea.† But the fact remains that traditional taxis in Shanghai (1) leave the streets when it's raining; (2) won't stop for you when it's raining if you do see one that hasn't pulled its disappearing act yet; and (3) won't let you in even if they have stopped for you and learned where you want to go. And believe me, getting stranded in the rain sucks. Rain is common in Shanghai at all times of the year, by the way. † That is, I have no idea why taxi drivers refuse to take passengers when it's raining. It's obvious why taxi apps will still do so - the app allows you to contact them at all times.
  - rightbyte 1y ago
- dbspin 1y ago
  'Europe' is a big place. Lots of local variation. Here in Ireland, only taxi's are allowed on Uber. So the same people are driving on uber, freenow, and being hailed at taxi ranks (although costs vary depending on the app).
  - ngangaga 1y ago
    100% fair; I was referring to Spain and Portugal FYI, but I've heard very good things about Italy as well in this regard.
AlexandrB 1y ago
Why would the old fashioned way be a big discount? Old fashioned taxi companies are not taking 0%. > scheduling, summoning, and advertising infrastructure is actually close to 60% of the cost Funny story about that - "pre-booking" an Uber for a future date costs something like an additional 20% on top of the actual fare. Made that mistake once and never again.
- InitialLastName 1y ago
  > Funny story about that - "pre-booking" an Uber for a future date costs something like an additional 20% on top of the actual fare. Made that mistake once and never agai Addendum from my funny story: It doesn't even really guarantee there will be a driver for you. A few years ago I "pre-booked" a car for an airport ride at an inconvenient time, only to have it cancelled as the driver was meant to show up. Luckily driver were more available than I expected they would be and I had another within a few minutes, but I could have been really screwed over.
adocomplete 1y ago
I remember reading about the law going into effect but had never seen the split broken out until last week. I highly doubt the scheduling, summoning, and advertising infra is close to 60% of the cost. I like Uber, I've been a customer for a long time. It's invaluable when visiting a new place imo. I also think they can and should pay their drivers more.
lenerdenator 1y ago
Or it could be that a massive influx of VC money into the for-hire transportation market allowed for a player (Uber) to more-or-less set prices as it found desirable. OC has something they must do: get from point A to point B. If your choices for doing so have been restricted by anticompetitive behavior on the part of a market player, you will have to do so by a less consumer-friendly set of rules.
Buttons840 1y ago
We live in a society where the largest and most successful companies got that way by NOT making a profit, and now you're going to bring out the free market arguments?

riffraff 1y ago

Taxi could be more expensive than Uber for the same reason AirBnB is cheaper than hotels: they do not respect the same standards (e.g. insurance, worker rights, etc). Not same this is the case, but there's more than convenience embedded in markets.

ngangaga 1y ago

> Except at some level you do obviously believe that using the app was worth $57 That's ridiculous. "because you didn't end the story by saying you called a cab company and got a big discount by doing it the old fashioned way." is just bad-faith weaseling. Uber is worse in every way than the taxi stands that used to be at airports; now you hail a car via an expensive app and have to wait for them to all jockey to where you are if they don't bail on the way. Taxi stands still make the most sense at events and leaving mass transit and that's even before considering the ridiculous cost. Visiting europe felt like a breath of fresh air in comparison—technically they have uber, but there was no point in using it because taxis were so prevalent, reliable, and cheap.

chgs 1y ago
Part time I went to Paris I had a 30 minute wait for a taxi at Gare du Nord. However last time I was as Dulles I wanted straight into a taxi, having been burnt the previous time when I ordered uber while going through customs and had to wait for ages. At Singapore Changi taxi queues can take ages, or no time at all. In Kenya I waited for an uber for 40 minutes to have it cancelled by the driver as I saw him get close to the airport, with a message saying he had “been arrested”. I don’t bother with uber in the U.K. any more - very rarely works. Used to be nice and reliable in cities It was in, about 10 years ago. You can’t draw a conclusion based on personal annecdotes.
- ngangaga 1y ago
  Hm, fair enough. Oddly Dulles is my local airport and I wasn't able to find any taxis the last time I flew in. Clearly I'm looking in the wrong place.
thaumasiotes 1y ago
> Visiting europe felt like a breath of fresh air in comparison—technically they have uber, but there was no point in using it because taxis were so prevalent, reliable, and cheap. Taxis in Shanghai have been largely replaced by app-related taxis. I have no particular knowledge of whether this moved prices up or down. But there are two obvious changes: 1. It's now possible to get a taxi when it's raining. 2. The app drivers feel free to smoke. Point 2 is a negative, but point 1 is a huge positive. How do European taxis respond to the rain?
- ngangaga 1y ago
  TBH, Uber wouldn't be so much of a problem with decent competition. But the critical mass required for a transit app is quite difficult to establish, and Lyft offers essentially the same deal with a slightly better margin for drivers. It's a de-facto duopoly here in the US where the two companies are incentivized to drive prices as high as the market will sustain, and the local apps (for instance we have one here in DC that is a co-op) are often legislated out of existence. > Taxis in Shanghai have been largely replaced by app-related taxis. The APP itself isn't the issue, it's the pricing. But it sounds like China has a much healthier market than we have. > 1. It's now possible to get a taxi when it's raining. Why would this make so much of a difference? I'm very curious.
  - thaumasiotes 1y ago
    >> 1. It's now possible to get a taxi when it's raining. > Why would this make so much of a difference? I'm very curious. I have no idea.† But the fact remains that traditional taxis in Shanghai (1) leave the streets when it's raining; (2) won't stop for you when it's raining if you do see one that hasn't pulled its disappearing act yet; and (3) won't let you in even if they have stopped for you and learned where you want to go. And believe me, getting stranded in the rain sucks. Rain is common in Shanghai at all times of the year, by the way. † That is, I have no idea why taxi drivers refuse to take passengers when it's raining. It's obvious why taxi apps will still do so - the app allows you to contact them at all times.
- rightbyte 1y ago
dbspin 1y ago
'Europe' is a big place. Lots of local variation. Here in Ireland, only taxi's are allowed on Uber. So the same people are driving on uber, freenow, and being hailed at taxi ranks (although costs vary depending on the app).
- ngangaga 1y ago
  100% fair; I was referring to Spain and Portugal FYI, but I've heard very good things about Italy as well in this regard.

AlexandrB 1y ago

Why would the old fashioned way be a big discount? Old fashioned taxi companies are not taking 0%. > scheduling, summoning, and advertising infrastructure is actually close to 60% of the cost Funny story about that - "pre-booking" an Uber for a future date costs something like an additional 20% on top of the actual fare. Made that mistake once and never again.

InitialLastName 1y ago
> Funny story about that - "pre-booking" an Uber for a future date costs something like an additional 20% on top of the actual fare. Made that mistake once and never agai Addendum from my funny story: It doesn't even really guarantee there will be a driver for you. A few years ago I "pre-booked" a car for an airport ride at an inconvenient time, only to have it cancelled as the driver was meant to show up. Luckily driver were more available than I expected they would be and I had another within a few minutes, but I could have been really screwed over.

adocomplete 1y ago

I remember reading about the law going into effect but had never seen the split broken out until last week. I highly doubt the scheduling, summoning, and advertising infra is close to 60% of the cost. I like Uber, I've been a customer for a long time. It's invaluable when visiting a new place imo. I also think they can and should pay their drivers more.

lenerdenator 1y ago

Or it could be that a massive influx of VC money into the for-hire transportation market allowed for a player (Uber) to more-or-less set prices as it found desirable. OC has something they must do: get from point A to point B. If your choices for doing so have been restricted by anticompetitive behavior on the part of a market player, you will have to do so by a less consumer-friendly set of rules.

Buttons840 1y ago

We live in a society where the largest and most successful companies got that way by NOT making a profit, and now you're going to bring out the free market arguments?