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LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

libretaxi.org

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Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#161

Post by [deleted] »

em3rgent0rdr wrote: post #149
espadrine wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How would a blockchain possibly help with that? If it was proof-of-work, why would anyone trust that spending CPU time correlates with saying the truth? If it was proof-of-stake, how can you guarantee that bad actors won't simply create a new public key? And regardless, who would switch to an app that drains their battery?

You link your identity to the public ledger, and when people rate you positively, you build up your overall repuation score which anyone can verify on the public ledger.

[deleted]

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#162

Post by shkkmo »

reubensutton wrote: post #6

My concern with this is the problem of ensuring the safety of the person driving the cab and the real identity of the rider. Lots of drivers will be reluctant because they can be stiffed on the bill. Lots of passengers will be reluctant to use it due to the inherent risk of riding with what is essentially a stranger.

I suspect this may be adopted in a lot of places by regular taxi drivers. Uruguay, for example, has something very similar called EasyTaxi (though I don't believe that App is open source) that allows you to call a taxi via an App and see when it arrives. You then pay the driver in outside the app via cash like you would any other taxi.

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#163

Post by lars_francke »

mschuster91 wrote: post #78
jasode wrote: post #54

>, pay cash upon arrival. Paying cash is a non-starter. I haven't been to a bank ATM in over 10 years. I don't even know what my card's secret PIN is to make a cash withdrawal. Being virtually cashless by using credit-cards for everything is very common in professional circles. A credit-card is simpler and the exact line-item amount showing up on my monthly statement helps me keep track of travel expenses. (Also, man…

> Paying cash is a non-starter. That certainly depends on the country. Good luck living cashless in Europe, especially in Germany where virtually no small store, food vendor etc. has a CC reader.

I totally agree.

And relevant to the actual topic: Even in big cities like Hamburg or Berlin it is not guaranteed that you can pay by card in a taxi. So I ask every time I enter one whether they accept credit cards or not. I would say 80% of my cab rides are paid in cash.

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#164

Post by StavrosK »

adevine wrote: post #156
antonioevans wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is a first world problem. Majority of the the world does not have a credit card or real access to a card. Majority of world pays with cash. A statement like this is similar to when I see American abroad and shocked that places don't take Amex for purchases. It's a very first world thing to even own an Amex let alone use it for a small purchases below $50.

Places like Kenya have been leading the world in mobile payments.

Which you can use for this service as well.

s/cash/peer-to-peer/

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#165

Post by aeorgnoieang »

whorleater wrote: post #128
PDoyle wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dumb question - don't both of these concerns exist with normal taxis too?

Taxis, for all of their warts, have a number you can call, someone in the local government you can contact, etc.

How is Uber or whatever that different? You can call the police, which are already someones "in the local government you can contact".

And neither the police nor a taxi commission are capable of doing much to protect anyone before a crime is committed (except by the usual channels, e.g. credibly committing to punishing criminals).

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#166

Post by TulliusCicero »

dvfjsdhgfv wrote: post #146

Am I the only one to see the irony of this? Uber and Lyft bring "disruption to the industry", then a new player enters and has the potential of disrupting their business model... Now, their only line of defense against LibreTaxi is to use the same rhetoric the Taxi companies had been using against them.

Their real defense is having a better product. I have a difficult time seeing LibreTaxi take off; at least in developed countries, I doubt people want to negotiate prices with drivers ahead of time and then pay cash.

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#167

Post by RileyJames »

rovek wrote: post #102
joeyspn wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BlaBlaCar [0] operates/ed only with community reviews (for drivers and passengers) and is doing just fine in EU... It is in fact so successful, that govs and press always talk about "services like blablacar and uber" (they're classified as basically the same kind of service) [0] https://www.blablacar.com/

I've literally never heard anyone outside Spotify ads 3 years ago even mention blablacar, let alone in the same breath as Uber.

Used it in Europe, sometimes cheaper than busses. Sometimes useful for unusual routes. It truely was "ride sharing", chipping in for fuel costs rather than a new job.

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#168

Post by ValentineC »

parasanti wrote: post #154
spIrr wrote: post #131

I'll post a comment from ProductHunt, which might give a bit more context to where the founder sees this going, and why cash rides make sense under certain circumstances he designed the app for: […] I have gone to the founder's blog and it provides a better understanding of where he sees it going: Uber (and similar apps) will never reach many remote villages, cities and regions around the world (and don't have to), b…

Uber is trying to address the Credit Card issues after it noticed that lots of Singaporeans, maids and foreign labor do not have credit cards but still needs the service. They accept cash now. https://www.techinasia.com/uber-cash-payments-singapore

I think it's more because Grab (Uber's competitor in Singapore) has always had the cash option from the start (Grab introduced GrabPay — their credit card option — after) [1], and Uber was trying to match the "feature".

[1] https://vulcanpost.com/171862/grabtaxi-uber-challenge-cashle...

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#169

Post by andrepd »

rovek wrote: post #102
joeyspn wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BlaBlaCar [0] operates/ed only with community reviews (for drivers and passengers) and is doing just fine in EU... It is in fact so successful, that govs and press always talk about "services like blablacar and uber" (they're classified as basically the same kind of service) [0] https://www.blablacar.com/

I've literally never heard anyone outside Spotify ads 3 years ago even mention blablacar, let alone in the same breath as Uber.

Nor have I but apparently it's big in some parts of Europe, so I don't assume my experience applies everywhere.
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