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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

#381

Post by diet_mtn_dew »

radarsat1 wrote: post #313
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…

> technology could greatly help the local communities in solving their transportation problems that are as "simple" as getting from point A to point B with no other feasible options available In rural communities here in Chile, and also in smaller towns, there is an amazing solution to this called Collectivo. I had never heard of it before arriving, but man it's the greatest thing. It's something in-between a bus and…

They have something similar in cities in the US (at least NYC anyway), they're called dollar vans.

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

#382

Post by GFischer »

saint_fiasco wrote: post #263
uncletammy wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only there existed a peer-to-peer version of electronic cash that would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution . Maybe one of these days...

In my country most cell phones are on pre-paid plan. You can buy cell phone credits at a gas station, then that credit gets used up as you make calls and send messages. When the cell phone companies came up with a service to transfer cell phone credits to other users, people started using that as currency. Only problem is each company runs its own proprietary system and there is no way to send credit to a someone who…

I actually tried starting a company based on that, but when I went to talk to the cell phone providers, one of them candidly explained to them that SMS was their cash cow and that it was essentially free for them, and calls were very cheap related to what the person paid, so it makes no sense for them to enable people to use the credit for other stuff which might get them into trouble later - think lawsuits, regulations, and all the complications of becoming a payment provider.

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

#383

Post by rohamg »

ew wrote: post #372
radarsat1 wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> technology could greatly help the local communities in solving their transportation problems that are as "simple" as getting from point A to point B with no other feasible options available In rural communities here in Chile, and also in smaller towns, there is an amazing solution to this called Collectivo. I had never heard of it before arriving, but man it's the greatest thing. It's something in-between a bus and…

I lived in Chile as the first cohort in Start-Up Chile. Problem I had with Collectivo's is that I had no idea what their route was. Having the ability to arbitrarily say "I'm here and I want to go here." is very valuable.

I think the commenter's point is that with technology, routes can easily be shared, even commented/collaborated on. Think of it as a more flexible form of public transit rather than Lyft Line / Uber Pool.

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

#384

Post by foxforcefive »

diet_mtn_dew wrote: post #381
radarsat1 wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> technology could greatly help the local communities in solving their transportation problems that are as "simple" as getting from point A to point B with no other feasible options available In rural communities here in Chile, and also in smaller towns, there is an amazing solution to this called Collectivo. I had never heard of it before arriving, but man it's the greatest thing. It's something in-between a bus and…

They have something similar in cities in the US (at least NYC anyway), they're called dollar vans.

Yup now they charge $2 and made them legal after years of illegal pickups. They aren't very safe and stop in the middle of traffic on main avenues. Reckless driving as well. But guess NYC figured they might as well tax them if they werent going to stop -even with fines. I hate them but they are very popular by me in Brooklyn.

Edit- also, they are still not regulated well as I know of someone who was driving one and he does not even have a drivers license.

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

#385

Post by AlexAffe »

vurpo wrote: post #312
bpierre wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this context, you can see the blockchain as a database, always available, and containing entries (transactions in blocks) that you can not delete. It’s very simplified, see the Wikipedia article [1] for more details about blockchain systems. The specific features that I find interesting to build an “open trust system” built on top of it, compared to a traditional database, are: - Transparency: anyone can explore t…

There is a problem: cryptographic solutions (like blockchain) cannot help build trust, only to maintain it. If a driver loses trust, they can just create a new private key and now they're up and running without any bad reviews again.

Very good point.

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

#386

Post by Neeek »

Noos wrote: post #370
radarsat1 wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> technology could greatly help the local communities in solving their transportation problems that are as "simple" as getting from point A to point B with no other feasible options available In rural communities here in Chile, and also in smaller towns, there is an amazing solution to this called Collectivo. I had never heard of it before arriving, but man it's the greatest thing. It's something in-between a bus and…

If you're a rural family, how will you bring groceries back for the month? What if you need to buy a new bed or sofa? What if you have to visit off the route, or it's just snowed and the collectivo owner doesn't want to bother with the route? Americans own cars because it's convenient to do many different things with them. If I own a car and my child is sick, I can go get medicine from the all-night pharmacy. I don't…

A car is good to have, sure, that doesn't mean I need to use mine every day. I've started catching the bus in to work, instead of 45 minutes of battling traffic in the morning I now have an hour and a half to read or draw or code or just nap even. I also have the option to stop in to the city for a meal and a beer on the way home without having to worry about overnight parking, fares are about as much as petrol and the buses here run on LPG which in my eyes is a plus.

This obviously holds less true the further from the city you go but what I'm trying to get at is that you can own a car and still benefit from good public (or in this case, alternate) transport. I still need to keep the car registered and in working order to transport my double bass from time to time and want to keep it that way for all the benefits that you described. What I don't is for me to be shackled to the thing as my only form of transport, much like you don't want to be shackled to a bus timetable.

Just because these services exist, doesn't mean that you need to give up your car to benefit from them (and that's not even going in to benefits provided to people in your community who CAN'T drive).

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

#387

Post by ekianjo »

clock_tower wrote: post #375
notahacker wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but avoiding hyperinflation is Monetary Policy 101. Most currencies in developed countries have never experienced a hyperinflation and never will because money is created via the fractional reserve banking system as credit for which there is a definite future demand for repayment and taxes denominated in that currency create additional future demand[1]. People are prepared to accept currency because they have f…

On avoiding hyperinflation, it's certainly true that we know how to do it. For the infamous Weimar hyperinflation, I'd refer you to Adam Fergusson's When Money Dies ; what drove the hyperinflation was two things, that the government was unwilling to control its spending (it risked France annexing the Saarland), and that the head of the national bank was poorly educated. When Schacht was brought in, in 1923 (10 years…

> hyperinflation never lasts long

How about Venezuela then ?

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

#388

Post by horsecaptin »

angry-hacker wrote: post #137
martin-adams wrote: post #4

Interesting idea. So does this skip on any verification that the person can drive and car is safe to be in?

What does uber or lyft do to take care of the safety?

Probably some kind of a criminal background check. A Driver history check. They also make sure that cars are new enough.

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

#389

Post by nicky0 »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #374
radarsat1 wrote: post #361

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rural Americans? I don't have any experience in rural America, but I heard they're pretty friendly ;) But maybe, yeah..

I grew up from 10 to 18 in a moderately rural area outside of Dallas. We share fine if and when we have to, but for the most part, we don't have to. I saw a lady walking along the side of a rural road - this was about 12 years ago, so there weren't buses then, and there won't be in the next 12 years either - so I pulled over and asked her where she was going. Turns out she was going to walk, in the summer heat, to a…

I think that's it. Needing to share or using someone else's car is seen as a sign of weakness. OK for an old lady maybe. But a Real American rides their own damn car, and pays for their own damn healthcare...

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

#390

Post by softawre »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #232
lucb1e wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> doesn’t want to organize a cash withdrawal You're not the first to mention this, but this is completely foreign to me. I'd love to get off of cash, but there are just so many places in Europe that are cash-only. The Netherlands is bad, but Germany is even worse. Lots of bakeries, fries stores, stands, etc. are cash-only; in restaurants big groups split and settle the bill with cash; and settling stuff between frien…

Getting to a cash machine that won't charge you an arbitrarily large amount for the privilege is nontrivial for many people.

Don't you just pull out cash before you leave then? Stop by a bank ATM or by the bank if you need a different currency.
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