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Yeah, anyone who uses taxi drivers as an example of destruction either don't know what they're talking about (because they never experienced it) or they're cryi
by timr 4mo ago
Yeah, anyone who uses taxi drivers as an example of destruction either don't know what they're talking about (because they never experienced it) or they're crying crocodile tears.
I had cab drivers nearly drive off with me hanging off the car in San Francisco, because they were far more concerned with screening my destination than, say, not killing me. If Uber destroyed that industry, it was only a net benefit to society. They created immense value, and the "destruction" was only to eliminate a layer of corrupt parasites who made money by preventing a free market (in this case, the medallion owners, but the entire industry was corrupt from top to bottom).
- inigyou 4mo agoNot all places have corrupt taxi industries. I think they were always more expensive than Uber (but there's a reason for that, Uber's pricing is not sustainable) but in most places a taxi is just a taxi.
- thisislife2 4mo agoDon't entirely agree that a local Taxi service is necessarily costlier than Uber. In my indian city, Uber and Ola cannot compete (and have been nearly wiped out) because a local Taxi service (that now dominates the market) is very competitively priced and professionally run. They charge their drivers a fixed percentage (unlike Uber or Ola, and lower fees than them) and release their payments timely in a transparent manner. The price per km, and all extra charges (late night fees, overtime driver charges etc., permit fees in case of long distance travel, toll fees etc.) are transparently conveyed to the customer too. And there is no bullshit practice of price gauging through "surge pricing" or "convenience fees" or "platform fees" etc.
- satvikpendem 4mo agoReminds me of Empower in the US, it charges drivers a fix fee, not even a percentage, and then the drivers take all the upside from their rides.
- retired 4mo agoI don’t know a single place in Europe where taxis aren’t scamming tourists.
- timr 4mo agoSo basically, you’re saying that “most places” had uncorrupt, put-upon taxi industries who simply cannot survive against Uber because Uber is anti-competitive, and it has nothing at all to do with delivering a better product? Yeah, I don’t believe you. It sounds like you’re making a just-so rationalization for why taxis are good and Uber is bad. In pretty much any mature taxi market Uber is as expensive (if not more expensive!) than the conventional alternative. And yet Uber survives.
- inigyou 4mo agoHave you ever met an Uber driver who makes decent money? Honest jobs should be compensated with honest money, not starvation wages.
- nunez 4mo agoBlack drivers used to make pretty good money many years ago, but Uber + market externalities redesigned their systems to "fix" that (mostly through decreasing payouts and high car rental costs) Most of the drivers providing that service split their time between Uber, Lyft and traditional corporate black car service. Lots of posts on this topic in the UberDrivers subreddit.
- inigyou 4mo agoYou see that whenever there is value, above starvation wages, flowing to laborers, capitalists see that as a problem and reduce it. Does this seem sustainable?
- irishcoffee 4mo agoIt’s really interesting how you’ve couched the concept of price discovery.
- inigyou 4mo agoSomehow only laborers get price discovered. Amazon hasn't got price discovered, not has Google, in decades. Weird. It's almost like Econ 101 isn't the whole story.
- bwhiting2356 4mo agoIt's about efficiency not just corruption. When you call taxi dispatch a human answers and coordinates with other humans. Takes longer and they sometimes drop the ball.
- dmurvihill 4mo agoThe Uber drivers created that value and should get those billions, not Travis Kalanick.
- aianus 4mo agoThe driver makes more than Uber does on (almost?) every ride. So they did.
- paulryanrogers 4mo agoUber doesn't pay the driver for their time, nor wear or insurance on their car. Uber doesn't even consider drivers employees unless legally required to. I should hope Uber's cut is a tiny fraction since all they provide is a bit of software while taking control of markets and pricing for themselves.