Google Takes on Uber with New Ride-Share Service • Hacker News Board

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

#101

Post by ghurtado » Tue, Aug 30, 2016, 8:47 PM UTC

res0nat0r wrote: post #76

chrisseaton wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

I think it is because they aren't getting paid $2.13/hr like servers in the USA are.

But this is a bit of a chicken and egg problem, isn't it? You could just as easily argue that the wages are so low because tipping is pretty much a given.

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

#102

Post by soared » Tue, Aug 30, 2016, 8:48 PM UTC

_cbsz wrote: post #52

Why would you pay to carpool to/from work instead of arranging carpool with a coworker, paying for your share of gas directly, and cutting out 1) the (future) middleman 2) the tax man?

Because no one at my work lives near me, but some guy who works a block away might?

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

#103

Post by emodendroket » Tue, Aug 30, 2016, 8:48 PM UTC

xapata wrote: post #50

emodendroket wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No it doesn't.

Frankly, I think that was the intention of the person who coined the term "living wage". But that's perfectly fine. It's like saying "pro-life" instead of saying "anti-choice". Use whatever phrase helps you get your message across. I'm not in the habit of saying "living wage," but if I wanted to say, "a person can't live on 5 dollars an hour" in a pithy manner, that's what I'd say. A literal-minded person might get a…

Many workers not making a living wage receive some form of government assistance, so saying that they aren't all dying in a gutter seems beside the point.

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

#104

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Aug 30, 2016, 8:49 PM UTC

imgabe wrote: post #21

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.…

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.

[deleted]

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

#105

Post by balls187 » Tue, Aug 30, 2016, 8:51 PM UTC

alkonaut wrote: post #69

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)?

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

Yes you can, but the logistics is up to you.

WRT to Google's model, the commute is being shared.

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

#106

Post by panglott » Tue, Aug 30, 2016, 8:51 PM UTC

imgabe wrote: post #21

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.…

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.

The ultimate problem with tipping restaurant service workers is that servers are legally allowed to be paid sub-minimum wage. The restaurant offloads their obligation to pay their employees onto the customer, and if the customer doesn't tip then the server will not be paid anything for the work. Under these conditions, customers have a moral obligation to tip servers, but that doesn't mean the system isn't a mess. Servers get no benefits, back staff get no tips, but servers get cash and the opportunity to underreport their tax burden.

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

#107

Post by gleenn » Tue, Aug 30, 2016, 8:51 PM UTC

eva1984 wrote: post #100

dragonwriter wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Honestly I wish they wouldn't try to compete on price. Waze Carpool is more targeted at actual ridesharing (and designed specifically to support to/from work carpooling), not a taxi service using "ridesharing" as a misleading name. Its not really trying to compete with price as it is offering a slightly different service (its kind of like UberPOOL, except its really focusing on -- though not strictly limited to --…

Uber has Uber Pool for the exact same purpose.

Not exactly. Uberpool drivers still don't want to actually go to the destination the customer does. Google's offer appears to be trying to coordinate cars of people who are all trying to get somewhere.

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

#108

Post by oh_sigh » Tue, Aug 30, 2016, 8:51 PM UTC

melvinmt wrote: post #97

speg wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I took an Uber home from the train station last week and it was less than $15. I'm not sure how much a taxi would've been, probably at least $25. I don't feel good about it. How can someone provide good service if they're taking home so little? I fear that soon Uber will be overrun with poor service because all the quality drivers have been driven out by low costs.

Last week I took Uber to work and paid only $1.22 for a 10 minute drive. Five minutes later I spent more than that on the toppings of my breakfast.. .. not sure how this is sustainable but I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

I think you were misbilled, or someone forgot to turn on the "meter".

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

#109

Post by alkonaut » Tue, Aug 30, 2016, 8:52 PM UTC

runako wrote: post #62

et-al wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ha…

Not sure why you'd accept that very long. I'll tell you how it works here (swe): Most of restaurant employees in the city are organized. There are no minimum wages, instead the union and the corresponding employee organization agree on a minimum compensation. A restaurant that doesn't want to follow the agreement will risk being blockaded by both this Union and any other union that symphathizes, for example their trash won't be picked up. The salaries for restaurant staff are still among the lowest at $3k/month, but still it's 80% of a police or nurse salary.

This might sound like the Union runs an extortion scheme, but interestingly the employers organizations are supportive as it means a lot less regulation and more flexibility. The result of this model is a pretty flat structure in comp: a nice university degree will likely not make you twice the hourly wage of the lowest diner job in the country.

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

#110

Post by dragonwriter » Tue, Aug 30, 2016, 8:53 PM UTC

alkonaut wrote: post #69

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)?

> Can we stop calling every new taxi service "ride sharing"?

Yes, but this is a ridesharing service, not a taxi service.

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

Isn't that exactly what UberPOOL is?