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The problem with this is that the people who get the rides in surge pricing are not the ones with the most demand, but those with the most resources. It's an i

The problem with this is that the people who get the rides in surge pricing are not the ones with the most demand, but those with the most resources. It's an inherently classist system. The surge price, to that rich person coming out of work to catch a cab to that upscale restaurant for dinner is pennies. But the surge price to the single mother who desperately needs the cab to get to school to pick up her kids on time before the school closes and they have to walk home in the rain with out jackets is breaking the bank. This does not make things "better for everyone" as the article argues. It only ensures that the wealthy always have it good, instead of having to compete for the limited service with everyone else. And it doesn't give the rides to those who truly need them most.

drcode 12y ago
> single mother who desperately needs the cab to get to school to pick up her kids Now, the single mother can get a very reasonable price on an Uber car that isn't available (because she didn't win the lottery.) Yay for solving the class problem!
dkural 12y ago
So let's do this for housing as well. Let's assign the best houses by lottery for a fixed price so that the poor mother of two has a fair chance, as opposed to a rich person housing their lover on the side. I think symbolic legislation around feel-good examples like cabs allows society to maintain the fiction that somehow it's not already completely capitalistic. It's like a safety valve.
- lotsofmangos 12y ago
  Complaining about pricing of cabs is rich people wanting their bit of capitalism to feel fair to them. For many people a cab is something you use when all other transport options have failed and you need to get somewhere now even if it means eating just beans on toast for the next week.
  - crygin 12y ago
    Yes. I had a friend once who took a cab to work when her bus didn't arrive, even though it meant she would have a net negative income for that day, so she wouldn't lose her job.

drcode 12y ago

> single mother who desperately needs the cab to get to school to pick up her kids Now, the single mother can get a very reasonable price on an Uber car that isn't available (because she didn't win the lottery.) Yay for solving the class problem!

dkural 12y ago

So let's do this for housing as well. Let's assign the best houses by lottery for a fixed price so that the poor mother of two has a fair chance, as opposed to a rich person housing their lover on the side. I think symbolic legislation around feel-good examples like cabs allows society to maintain the fiction that somehow it's not already completely capitalistic. It's like a safety valve.

lotsofmangos 12y ago
Complaining about pricing of cabs is rich people wanting their bit of capitalism to feel fair to them. For many people a cab is something you use when all other transport options have failed and you need to get somewhere now even if it means eating just beans on toast for the next week.
- crygin 12y ago
  Yes. I had a friend once who took a cab to work when her bus didn't arrive, even though it meant she would have a net negative income for that day, so she wouldn't lose her job.