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The problem is that customers and drivers don't actually set the price. The market would operate much more efficiently as a double auction: potential passenger

The problem is that customers and drivers don't actually set the price. The market would operate much more efficiently as a double auction: potential passengers submit their bids and drivers simultaneously submit their ask prices, and Uber continuously chooses some price that clears the market.

seanmcdirmid 12y ago
This is how didi dache works: you set the tip you will provide, taxis won't bother coming during rush hour for just a 5 kuai tip, but for 10 kuai I don't have a problem (on top of a 40 kuai base fair). These are all official taxis however and the gov doesn't like the tip function since it defeats the purpose of fixed rates for obvious reasons; it is also almost impossible to get a taxi during rush hour without the app now. But the drivers love it and I doubt it's going away. 10 kuai is less than 2 bucks and they don't make enough money anyways.
- twic 12y ago
  Interesting. As a would-be passenger, is there any way to tell how much you'd have to tip to get a ride? Or to get a ride within a given period of time? It'd be very useful to see that curve - "well, if I tip seven kuai, I'll get a ride in ten minutes, but if I tip nine kuai, I'll get it in five minutes, which sounds good, but to get a ride in three minutes I'd have to tip twenty-five kuai, so forget that".
  - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
    You specify the tip in the app at time of your hail, so the drivers know what you are willing to pay on top of the meter (my WP app provides 5, 10, and 20 kuai tip options; the iOS app is more flexible). The taxis are responsible to replying to your hail, and you are given 120 seconds per request, so if no one replies, your request simply fails. You are supposed to hail when you need the taxi, so there is no time/price tradeoff to be made. There is another service (didi chuanche?) that is higher end and more expensive (they come in nice rental cars) that you can reserve ahead of time, but the government has made it basically illegal (its still going, but they have to be smart about where they drop you off). Note that tipping is not a part of Chinese culture, you aren't usually expected to tip. This is more like an incentive for them to come pick you up. I was already tipping 10 kuai anyways before I started using the app, it just felt like the right thing to do.

seanmcdirmid 12y ago

This is how didi dache works: you set the tip you will provide, taxis won't bother coming during rush hour for just a 5 kuai tip, but for 10 kuai I don't have a problem (on top of a 40 kuai base fair). These are all official taxis however and the gov doesn't like the tip function since it defeats the purpose of fixed rates for obvious reasons; it is also almost impossible to get a taxi during rush hour without the app now. But the drivers love it and I doubt it's going away. 10 kuai is less than 2 bucks and they don't make enough money anyways.

twic 12y ago
Interesting. As a would-be passenger, is there any way to tell how much you'd have to tip to get a ride? Or to get a ride within a given period of time? It'd be very useful to see that curve - "well, if I tip seven kuai, I'll get a ride in ten minutes, but if I tip nine kuai, I'll get it in five minutes, which sounds good, but to get a ride in three minutes I'd have to tip twenty-five kuai, so forget that".
- seanmcdirmid 12y ago
  You specify the tip in the app at time of your hail, so the drivers know what you are willing to pay on top of the meter (my WP app provides 5, 10, and 20 kuai tip options; the iOS app is more flexible). The taxis are responsible to replying to your hail, and you are given 120 seconds per request, so if no one replies, your request simply fails. You are supposed to hail when you need the taxi, so there is no time/price tradeoff to be made. There is another service (didi chuanche?) that is higher end and more expensive (they come in nice rental cars) that you can reserve ahead of time, but the government has made it basically illegal (its still going, but they have to be smart about where they drop you off). Note that tipping is not a part of Chinese culture, you aren't usually expected to tip. This is more like an incentive for them to come pick you up. I was already tipping 10 kuai anyways before I started using the app, it just felt like the right thing to do.