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The problem with a service like this for the NFL players is that a lot of them don't want their coaches and teammates to know they were out the night before, or

The problem with a service like this for the NFL players is that a lot of them don't want their coaches and teammates to know they were out the night before, or just how wasted they are getting. So if Uber can guarantee anonymity throughout the process then I think players will be more apt to use Uber. Basically a cab service exists everywhere, so for the players its not just the connivence but the real implications of calling a designated driver and their job. Granted drunk driving is infinitely worse, I feel like some athletes will always do what they think they can get away with.

mpyne 13y ago
The other problem is that you still have to decide, while drunk, that you're going to call the cab. Even if you completely intended to while sober, people are not typically known for superior decision-making while drunk. If anonymity were the only concern players could generally trivially pay for a cab and avoid using an NFL or NFLPA-provided service. So while I'm glad that the NFL is trying to do something about drunk driving amongst the players, I don't think this is much more than PR fodder in practice.
- emhart 13y ago
  Anonymity probably matters more to someone who is likely to be recognized by a cab driver. Especially one with a video camera in the car (most major metropolitan cab companies). Uber, on the other hand, make a point of distinguishing their drivers from the rabble. If they can establish trust with the athletes that whether or not they are recognized, they will never be talked about, recorded, etc. it may help with the adoption of the service. Plus, Uber have also positioned themselves as a lifestyle brand. Hailing or calling for a cab may feel like it is below the station of a professional athlete. Uber have positioned themselves to be a sort of modern, distributed chauffeur. They are all small things, but both as a PR win, and a potential tool in the box of the NFL who are desperate to get a handle on the off-field bad-choices of their athletes, this doesn't seem like a bad thing.
  - r00fus 13y ago
    This is a great pilot program. Uber is in a position to provide a vertical solution for ball clubs that uniquely identifies key sore points. Then they can expand to other profitable niches - imagine interview services for large corps where Uber knows how and when to get a candidate from building to building in a city/campus (think: Redmond/MV/Cupertino). Uber is in a much better position than random cab/limo company or possibly even the company itself - as transport is often a sore spot). Uber can iterate/pivot flexibly, while most cab companies (and local governments) can't invest the time or effort to do this for such a small (but lucrative) population.
- mathrawka 13y ago
  Perhaps the Uber app should offer something where you can "reserve" a ride at a specific location and time in the future. If you are going to be at Foo Bar drinking it up, you can say "Pick me up at 10pm". And at 9pm you get a push notification, "We will pick you up in 1 hour. [OK] [Not Yet] And then you can modify the time to get picked up, so if you decide for another pint you will still have that cab coming to get you even if your decision making is no longer good anymore.
derefr 13y ago
If you want real deniability, you might want the service to include another driver that rides in with the car, drives the player's car home, puts it in park in the driveway, and then lets the player transfer back into their own car to slip it into the garage. And also some of those Russian anti-hangover pills.
- pavel_lishin 13y ago
  It would probably be best if the other-driver also had a mask that mimicked the likeness of the player's face.
  - derefr 13y ago
    (I'm not really suggesting that it appear that the player drove their own car home to outside observers; just that it would be weird and creepy to let some stranger park your car in your garage. It's mostly about not leaving a car parked in front of a bar the next morning.)
- Hannan 13y ago
  There's a service in my city that does this for 30 or 40 bucks depending on how far they have to go. Minus the hangover pills, anyway. I always wonder what the insurance situation is, but however un(der)-insured they may be, it has to be better than the alternative.

mpyne 13y ago

The other problem is that you still have to decide, while drunk, that you're going to call the cab. Even if you completely intended to while sober, people are not typically known for superior decision-making while drunk. If anonymity were the only concern players could generally trivially pay for a cab and avoid using an NFL or NFLPA-provided service. So while I'm glad that the NFL is trying to do something about drunk driving amongst the players, I don't think this is much more than PR fodder in practice.

emhart 13y ago
Anonymity probably matters more to someone who is likely to be recognized by a cab driver. Especially one with a video camera in the car (most major metropolitan cab companies). Uber, on the other hand, make a point of distinguishing their drivers from the rabble. If they can establish trust with the athletes that whether or not they are recognized, they will never be talked about, recorded, etc. it may help with the adoption of the service. Plus, Uber have also positioned themselves as a lifestyle brand. Hailing or calling for a cab may feel like it is below the station of a professional athlete. Uber have positioned themselves to be a sort of modern, distributed chauffeur. They are all small things, but both as a PR win, and a potential tool in the box of the NFL who are desperate to get a handle on the off-field bad-choices of their athletes, this doesn't seem like a bad thing.
- r00fus 13y ago
  This is a great pilot program. Uber is in a position to provide a vertical solution for ball clubs that uniquely identifies key sore points. Then they can expand to other profitable niches - imagine interview services for large corps where Uber knows how and when to get a candidate from building to building in a city/campus (think: Redmond/MV/Cupertino). Uber is in a much better position than random cab/limo company or possibly even the company itself - as transport is often a sore spot). Uber can iterate/pivot flexibly, while most cab companies (and local governments) can't invest the time or effort to do this for such a small (but lucrative) population.
mathrawka 13y ago
Perhaps the Uber app should offer something where you can "reserve" a ride at a specific location and time in the future. If you are going to be at Foo Bar drinking it up, you can say "Pick me up at 10pm". And at 9pm you get a push notification, "We will pick you up in 1 hour. [OK] [Not Yet] And then you can modify the time to get picked up, so if you decide for another pint you will still have that cab coming to get you even if your decision making is no longer good anymore.

derefr 13y ago

If you want real deniability, you might want the service to include another driver that rides in with the car, drives the player's car home, puts it in park in the driveway, and then lets the player transfer back into their own car to slip it into the garage. And also some of those Russian anti-hangover pills.

pavel_lishin 13y ago
It would probably be best if the other-driver also had a mask that mimicked the likeness of the player's face.
- derefr 13y ago
  (I'm not really suggesting that it appear that the player drove their own car home to outside observers; just that it would be weird and creepy to let some stranger park your car in your garage. It's mostly about not leaving a car parked in front of a bar the next morning.)
Hannan 13y ago
There's a service in my city that does this for 30 or 40 bucks depending on how far they have to go. Minus the hangover pills, anyway. I always wonder what the insurance situation is, but however un(der)-insured they may be, it has to be better than the alternative.