“From a G.M. perspective, we view this as much more of an opportunity than a threat” - G.M President
Something you don't hear big corps talk so about start-ups very often. It's promising.
G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft
41–50 of 402 posts
Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft
#42So Google+Ford, Lyft+GM, Tesla on both sides software/hardware... Where is Uber's Hardware going to come from now? I wonder if this is an instance where the personalities involved with Uber are having a detrimental effect on these sorts of long-term needs. Or is there something yet to be announced?
Don't forget Apple.
Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
Think back to Uber's beginning. It was incredibly elitist - only black cars, twice what a taxi cost, etc. Even the name reflects that. They're almost at parity now though, at the normal person level in Chicago at least. I get nearly killed by either on my bike just as easily :)
>I get nearly killed by either on my bike just as easily Glad I'm not the only one who notices these cars randomly driving slowly or parked in the bike lanes waiting for the next ride to come in. Ride safe..
In NYC, where Uber/Lyft drivers are required to operate Taxi and Limousine Commission-licensed cars, citizens can file complaints via the web, leading to tickets:
https://twitter.com/hashtag/cyclistswithcameras
Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft
#44I don't know whether this is a real difference or not, but Lyft "feels" like a much nicer company than Uber. I'm not thrilled about Lyft's rampant hipster-branding, but Uber seems like a company run by pricks. Maybe it's just because they're the underdog, but I'm really rooting for Lyft.
> Uber seems like a company run by pricks I recently interviewed with Uber in Asia, spoke to a half dozen people there right up to the head of the region and many Americans who have been with the company for years, and I did not get the job (so, clearly not biased towards the company). Here's my one data point: they were all really nice, professional, competent people I'd actually want to work with. When I say nice,…
Just wondering, do you think the fact that you "poked a bit towards the "unethical" side of things" played any part in you not getting the position?
Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft
#45The "short-term car rental hubs... where people who do not own cars can pick up a vehicle and drive for Lyft to earn money" is a nice idea in the short-term. I still think Uber has the right idea long-term with a completely autonomous fleet, but once those hit the market, there will still be a pretty large demand for NON-autonomous vehicles -- take my parents, for instance, who refuse to get into a car not driven by…
>
I agree that this is probably the end state of this space, but I think this is much more Google's than Uber's vision - Uber is terrified of autonomous cars (since it eliminates the supply network effect of their driver network and opens up the space to anyone with deep pockets).
Once autonomous cars become a reality, I think you are going to see a fierce battle between Uber and Google.
Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Think back to Uber's beginning. It was incredibly elitist - only black cars, twice what a taxi cost, etc. Even the name reflects that. They're almost at parity now though, at the normal person level in Chicago at least. I get nearly killed by either on my bike just as easily :)
>I get nearly killed by either on my bike just as easily Glad I'm not the only one who notices these cars randomly driving slowly or parked in the bike lanes waiting for the next ride to come in. Ride safe..
They get more distracted by the phones I believe. Specially in between rides when they have to accept ride requests in a timely fashion.
I've seen drivers parked in lots when they are awaiting a request but in places where parking is charged such as downtown, I think they prefer to keep looping around blocks.
There may be an interesting case study to be made on the environmental impact of these idling cars.
Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft
#47Brilliant. Concierge drivers consume very new cars, decreasing use of older ones thus driving GM sales.
They also eat the lunch of the other car manufacturers, simultaneously lowering near term and future sales.
Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft
#48The "short-term car rental hubs... where people who do not own cars can pick up a vehicle and drive for Lyft to earn money" is a nice idea in the short-term. I still think Uber has the right idea long-term with a completely autonomous fleet, but once those hit the market, there will still be a pretty large demand for NON-autonomous vehicles -- take my parents, for instance, who refuse to get into a car not driven by…
> take my parents, for instance, who refuse to get into a car not driven by a human.
I think people are doing lots of things that they couldn't imagine doing before those things existed/became widespread. How many people would never get a cell phone and has one now?
People need to see that stuff works and then they become adopters.
Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft
#49The "short-term car rental hubs... where people who do not own cars can pick up a vehicle and drive for Lyft to earn money" is a nice idea in the short-term. I still think Uber has the right idea long-term with a completely autonomous fleet, but once those hit the market, there will still be a pretty large demand for NON-autonomous vehicles -- take my parents, for instance, who refuse to get into a car not driven by…
Isn't that just a marketing and PR problem, first and foremost?
"The new [insert brand here], safer than any other vehicle ever developed [insert statistic here]. It will bring you where you want to go, fast, safe and while you can tend to the things in life that really matter [insert family/reading/working montage]."
I'm no adman, but I think it won't be too difficult to sell this. And if all fails, lower insurance rates, or rather higher insurance rates for manual drivers, will sway a lot of people.
Re: G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft
#50The "short-term car rental hubs... where people who do not own cars can pick up a vehicle and drive for Lyft to earn money" is a nice idea in the short-term. I still think Uber has the right idea long-term with a completely autonomous fleet, but once those hit the market, there will still be a pretty large demand for NON-autonomous vehicles -- take my parents, for instance, who refuse to get into a car not driven by…
When that happens you can almost bet that it will be a hypercompetitive market which is likely to eventually be dominated by car manufacturers. I mean why do you need Uber at all when you make the car itself and all of its inside. It's not as if the software to coordinate pickup and drop-offs is rocket science. And neither is customer service. I look forward to how cheap and easy it will be and how the manufacturers will cut out of the middle men out of everything.