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Google Takes on Uber with New Ride-Share Service

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Re: Google Takes on Uber with New Ride-Share Service

#61

Post by ykler »

mmanfrin wrote: post #3

Honestly I wish they wouldn't try to compete on price. Maybe I'm alone with this, but I'd rather not feel obligated to tip a driver because the ride is so cheap. Pay them a living wage, let me pay the exact fee, and let me not have to carry goddamn cash like I used to in the era of Taxis. e: Addressing common replies: "This is for people commuting already" -- okay, point taken; my point about Uber/Lyft still stands.…

They want to stay below the IRS caps on cost reimbursement for drivers (https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/standard-...). If drivers make more than that, they would have to carry special insurance and maybe be vetted.

Re: Google Takes on Uber with New Ride-Share Service

#62

Post by runako »

et-al wrote: post #45
imgabe wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There should never be an obligation to tip. The whole point of tipping is that it's not obligatory. I get that we've messed that up for a lot of professions, like restaurant servers, but Uber et al have a chance to reset the social norms at least around taxi-esque services and they should take it.

We need to tip in America because the prevalent attitude here is "I don't get paid enough for this shit." It's not so much about paying people a living wage, as much as changing the way people view their jobs and obligations. Everyone wants to change the world, but how many people will actually pick up a stray piece of trash and throw it in a bin?

If only that were remotely true.

In many/most states, the minimum wage for a variety of jobs is not in the range of "livable". For example, minimum wage for restaurant jobs in Georgia is $2.13/hour [1]. They actually don't "get paid enough for this shit," so their attitude actually matches reality. Tipping is a necessary component of the compensation if we want to continue our practice of letting certain employers have exemptions from labor laws.

EDIT: $2.13/hour is $340.80 per month, if you are given enough hours to make full-time. Taxes etc. come out of that (you will probably see some of that money again when you file your taxes, for all the good it will do then).

(Yes, I know the employer is supposed to top-up the staff to e.g. $7.25/hr. That does not always/usually/ever happen.)

You are correct that paying people more than a pittance changes how they view their jobs.

[1] https://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm

Re: Google Takes on Uber with New Ride-Share Service

#63

Post by ilostmykeys »

This is a hitchhiking service, not a "I want to get from my hotel to the airport" service. What are the chances that someome happens to be passing by my hotel on their way to the airport and happens to have room for an extra passenger. LOL. Retarded (to view it as competing with Uber/Lyft) Just part of the media that is itching to start a new drama.

Re: Google Takes on Uber with New Ride-Share Service

#64

Post by vthallam »

imgabe wrote: post #19
iamcasen wrote: post #2

Uber and Lyft have had to tackle so many legal issues already. Drastically improving and modifying how they deal with drivers on a daily basis from both an operational and legal standpoint. If what the article says is true about google vetting problem drivers with mere user reviews, they don't know what they are getting into. I think the idea is great of course, and I imagine it would cut down on freeway traffic duri…

If this is strictly to more easily facilitate carpooling during rush hour, there's some precedent. In the Washington DC area, for at least a decade, possibly more, there have been "Slug Lines" outside the city for people commuting in. The idea is you go to a specific place via public transportation or park there, then drivers heading into the city pick you up so they can use the HOV lane. There's a similar setup in t…

This happens in many places i guess. But when a company gets into picture to facilitate this, things like safety/insurance comes into picture. I am sure Google might have already figured that out, if not any small crime incident by a driver would cause huge reputational damage.

Re: Google Takes on Uber with New Ride-Share Service

#65

Post by revelation »

exacube wrote: post #58
mmanfrin wrote: post #3

Honestly I wish they wouldn't try to compete on price. Maybe I'm alone with this, but I'd rather not feel obligated to tip a driver because the ride is so cheap. Pay them a living wage, let me pay the exact fee, and let me not have to carry goddamn cash like I used to in the era of Taxis. e: Addressing common replies: "This is for people commuting already" -- okay, point taken; my point about Uber/Lyft still stands.…

I find it odd to tip for professions where they earn decently; restaurant waiters don't earn much (they earn 'restaurant minimums' or even under the table) and rely on tips. Uber and Lyft drivers earn decently ($20/hr+ in the bay area, $30/hr+ in NYC), and I wouldn't consider tipping them if I was earning similarly/less than they are. OTOH, if you're a high earner and paying a tip doesn't make a difference to you fin…

    $20/hr+ in the bay area, $30/hr+ in NYC
Neither of which makes for a "decent" living, particularly if you correct that for wear & tear.

Re: Google Takes on Uber with New Ride-Share Service

#66

Post by chrisseaton »

jonahx wrote: post #55
imgabe wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There should never be an obligation to tip. The whole point of tipping is that it's not obligatory. I get that we've messed that up for a lot of professions, like restaurant servers, but Uber et al have a chance to reset the social norms at least around taxi-esque services and they should take it.

as a practical matter, i don't believe it's possible to have "optional" tipping that doesn't create obligation (even if that would be desirable). either you create a cultural norm where tipping isn't allowed or expected, which Uber has effectively done, or you have a situation like restaurants, where the tip may as well be part of the price, unless you're cool being the asshole who doesn't tip, which most people aren…

> if tipping is an option, through a kind of cultural game-theoretic pressure, the situation will always devolve into the restaurant norm. at least that's how it is in the states

In the UK tipping in restaurants is optional and, while it sounds really weird to say this, I don't think the waiters and waitresses seem to care either way. I don't get a different reaction from them if I tip or if I don't. They don't seem elated if I tip a lot or disappointed if I tip a little. Nobody seems to care and this situation seems stable as it's been this way as long as I've been an adult.

Re: Google Takes on Uber with New Ride-Share Service

#67

Post by saalweachter »

dragonwriter wrote: post #49
inlined wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FTA: the price is intended to be low enough that one wouldn't try to use this to be a taxi driver. It reminds me of the days when someone offered to chip in for gas in exchange for carpooling. Disclaimer: I'm a Google employee but have never heard anything about this before.

EDIT: Oh, nevermind.

Keeping up with everything Google is doing is itself a full time job. I barely have time to keep up with all of the gazillion announcements in my own tiny corner of the world that affect my day job, so I'm usually as surprised as anyone when something "big" happens in a different part of the company.

Re: Google Takes on Uber with New Ride-Share Service

#69

Post by alkonaut »

Can we stop calling every new taxi service "ride sharing"? Are people "sharing" anything in any meaningful way? The drivers car isn't shared, he sells a ride, that's a Taxi. A medallion or other arbitrary system doesn't define what a taxi is.

Can I tell uber I want to share a ride to the airport with any stranger? (my taxi co will do that)?

Re: Google Takes on Uber with New Ride-Share Service

#70

Post by riboflava »

ethanbond wrote: post #30
imgabe wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There should never be an obligation to tip. The whole point of tipping is that it's not obligatory. I get that we've messed that up for a lot of professions, like restaurant servers, but Uber et al have a chance to reset the social norms at least around taxi-esque services and they should take it.

If it's not obligatory to tip then it should be obligatory to pay people a living wage, in any context.

Living wage destroys the ability for people to make a little extra on the side with part-time gigs.
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