4 ms·

> How is Uber not in everybody's best interests? Poor and elderly people, for a start. Spend a bit of time by the entrance to a major hospital and observe how

> How is Uber not in everybody's best interests? Poor and elderly people, for a start. Spend a bit of time by the entrance to a major hospital and observe how the other half uses taxis as a lifeline; you might just change your tune. It may come as a surprise to many people here, but taxis aren't just there to transport privileged rich folks to and from parties. They're an integral part of any well functioning city's transportation system, and handing the keys over in the name of disruption is naive at best and outright dangerous to some of society's most vulnerable populations at worst. Disclaimer: as a card carrying member of the privileged elite, I've used Uber in the past and will probably do so in the future. I'm merely trying to point out that the taxi industry doesn't exist in a vacuum.

ngoel36 13y ago
The poor and elderly have some finite amount of money that they have allocated to spend on public transportation, right? Perhaps it's a bit ideal, but Uber has already successfully penetrated a new customer stratification with Uber Cab...what's to stop it from doing so again -- whether it be via a more cost-effective Uber Cab, an "Uber Rickshaw" service (mostly kidding), or even a government subsidy (an amount to be added to municipal welfare budget, yet still far smaller than the inefficiency cost of a municipal taxi system) to service poorer customers at an affordable price?
kkowalczyk 13y ago
This argument assumes two things: * Uber will wipe-out taxi business while being more expensive * Uber will always be more expensive than taxis Neither is true so conclusion cannot be true either. If Uber is more expensive than taxis and there's demand for a cheaper alternative, there will still be demand for taxis. Maybe less than today, but as long as demand is there, the taxis will be there. But this point is moot, because Uber (or someone else) has a chance to be cheaper. UberX is already cheaper than Uber and they just announced up to 25% fare reductions on UberX in SF, to compete with Lyft and SideCar, which, I believe, are already cheaper than taxis. What is in the interest of everybody (rich, poor, young, elderly) is more competition. Uber is competing with taxis, hopefully forcing them to improve their service. Lyft and SideCar are competing mostly on price. The only losers from this competition are existing taxi companies, and that's exactly how it's supposed to work: people benefit when new entrants provide better service or the same service at a cheaper price.

ngoel36 13y ago

The poor and elderly have some finite amount of money that they have allocated to spend on public transportation, right? Perhaps it's a bit ideal, but Uber has already successfully penetrated a new customer stratification with Uber Cab...what's to stop it from doing so again -- whether it be via a more cost-effective Uber Cab, an "Uber Rickshaw" service (mostly kidding), or even a government subsidy (an amount to be added to municipal welfare budget, yet still far smaller than the inefficiency cost of a municipal taxi system) to service poorer customers at an affordable price?

kkowalczyk 13y ago

This argument assumes two things: * Uber will wipe-out taxi business while being more expensive * Uber will always be more expensive than taxis Neither is true so conclusion cannot be true either. If Uber is more expensive than taxis and there's demand for a cheaper alternative, there will still be demand for taxis. Maybe less than today, but as long as demand is there, the taxis will be there. But this point is moot, because Uber (or someone else) has a chance to be cheaper. UberX is already cheaper than Uber and they just announced up to 25% fare reductions on UberX in SF, to compete with Lyft and SideCar, which, I believe, are already cheaper than taxis. What is in the interest of everybody (rich, poor, young, elderly) is more competition. Uber is competing with taxis, hopefully forcing them to improve their service. Lyft and SideCar are competing mostly on price. The only losers from this competition are existing taxi companies, and that's exactly how it's supposed to work: people benefit when new entrants provide better service or the same service at a cheaper price.