Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 527 posts

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#81

Post by Griffinsauce »

xiangmin wrote: post #60
smileysteve wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The key points are - CEO never blackmailed journalists - No major revelations of sexual harassment - ~~No major revelations of political support~~ Related to core business - Surge Limit has prevented complaints about emergency pricing vs Uber. - Lyft takes a lower commission capped at 20%/25% - Lyft has in app digital tipping (drivers keep 100% of tips). Uber's tip policy encourages cash, which is an often cited comp…

> No major revelations of political support They took a kind of strong stance [1] in protesting the recent order that restricted travel from those seven countries, so that's a political statement (whether or not we agree with it.) Their announcement also included some strawman language, which turned off some people: "This weekend, Trump closed the country’s borders to refugees, immigrants, and even documented residen…

Can you explain how it's a strawman? The Muslim ban (as it has been known for a long time) is a ban on people from a particular faith.

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#82

Post by nhf »

dwg wrote: post #35
alphonsegaston wrote: post #24

Anybody who's got a small but viable alternative to Uber could really benefit by pivoting to an "ethics first" model right now. Between Kalanick and Thiel, the market seems ripe for disruption.

Can you give an example of large companies which operate on a "ethics first" model?

Patagonia is famous for this in the clothing industry. They are a premium brand so they can get away with higher prices and a lot of it gets reinvested in supply chain sustainability /ethics.

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#83

Post by cpprototypes »

I often wonder what is the natural market price of these services? Basically, without massive VC money distorting everything, how much would a Lyft or Uber ride really cost? I have a feeling it would be much higher than now. Despite all the hype, true level 5 self driving is decades away. When the VC money stops, what are these companies going to do?

I think the only viable option for them is Lyft Line/Uber Pool. It benefits from network effects (more using the service, better it gets) which also prevents newcomers. It could become a monopoly like Facebook. They should be pushing this harder than unrealistic dreams of level 5 self driving.

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#84

Post by bykovich »

rubicon33 wrote: post #62
mdorazio wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counterpoint: one of the reasons I prefer Uber is that it doesn't allow or encourage in-app tipping. Tipping sucks, is economically dysfunctional, and socially awkward. If the drivers aren't making enough from base fares then the fares need to go up - it's not my job to be a charity.

Couldn't agree more. It's THE reason I use Uber, instead of lift. Tipping has gotten out of control in this country. It's supposed to be reserved for when someone performs an exceptional service, not to subsidize their wage.

This sounds an awful lot like "I'm taking advantage of the assumption of tipping to avoid paying a fair price for the services I receive."

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#85

Post by astrange »

a13n wrote: post #14
myblake wrote: post #2

While I think now is probably the time for lyft to strike while the iron is hot, I appreciate nytimes' candor in acknowledging neither Lyft nor Uber has demonstrated a "financially viable business". The road ahead is undoubtedly not easy for Lyft.

> neither Lyft nor Uber has demonstrated a "financially viable business Self driving cars

A completely different business model where they suddenly own tons of depreciating capital assets. Or are they going to franchise out the car ownership and keep relying on people to not realize they're losing money?

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#86

Post by dpc59 »

dwg wrote: post #35
alphonsegaston wrote: post #24

Anybody who's got a small but viable alternative to Uber could really benefit by pivoting to an "ethics first" model right now. Between Kalanick and Thiel, the market seems ripe for disruption.

Can you give an example of large companies which operate on a "ethics first" model?

Patagonia, jones snowboards, wikipedia and many more.

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#87

Post by badminton1 »

freyr wrote: post #72
smileysteve wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The key points are - CEO never blackmailed journalists - No major revelations of sexual harassment - ~~No major revelations of political support~~ Related to core business - Surge Limit has prevented complaints about emergency pricing vs Uber. - Lyft takes a lower commission capped at 20%/25% - Lyft has in app digital tipping (drivers keep 100% of tips). Uber's tip policy encourages cash, which is an often cited comp…

> Lyft has in app digital tipping (drivers keep 100% of tips). One of the reasons I don't like Lyft. How about this system: pay the drivers a fair wage up front, so they don't need to subsist on the generosity of strangers. If they get great ratings, you can give them a bonus.

With several ride sharing services waging a war of attrition in terms of fare prices, it is challenging to prevail with higher pricing. Unfortunately many people do not care why prices are lower, they just prefer the cheaper service.

Regulations could help setting a limit to that, but then half of the US believes that regulations are bad for businesses and jobs. Part of that is true, but then what is the point of a job that makes you poorer at the end of each day?

A workaround are tips. And it is not ideal, I concur on that, but it is more viable than getting the government to regulate ridesharing jobs to ensure a minimum wage or teaching people at a large to be socially responsible.

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#88

Post by dietrichepp »

freyr wrote: post #72
smileysteve wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The key points are - CEO never blackmailed journalists - No major revelations of sexual harassment - ~~No major revelations of political support~~ Related to core business - Surge Limit has prevented complaints about emergency pricing vs Uber. - Lyft takes a lower commission capped at 20%/25% - Lyft has in app digital tipping (drivers keep 100% of tips). Uber's tip policy encourages cash, which is an often cited comp…

> Lyft has in app digital tipping (drivers keep 100% of tips). One of the reasons I don't like Lyft. How about this system: pay the drivers a fair wage up front, so they don't need to subsist on the generosity of strangers. If they get great ratings, you can give them a bonus.

This is a complaint against American culture in a broader sense, not really Lyft specifically. Valid complaint for sure, just misdirected.

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#89

Post by pkaye »

freyr wrote: post #72
smileysteve wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The key points are - CEO never blackmailed journalists - No major revelations of sexual harassment - ~~No major revelations of political support~~ Related to core business - Surge Limit has prevented complaints about emergency pricing vs Uber. - Lyft takes a lower commission capped at 20%/25% - Lyft has in app digital tipping (drivers keep 100% of tips). Uber's tip policy encourages cash, which is an often cited comp…

> Lyft has in app digital tipping (drivers keep 100% of tips). One of the reasons I don't like Lyft. How about this system: pay the drivers a fair wage up front, so they don't need to subsist on the generosity of strangers. If they get great ratings, you can give them a bonus.

Lyft has already split the fare 20% for themselves and 80% for the driver. Lets assume there is an additional tip of 20% kept by the driver so effectively a bulk of the fare. Now is that by itself equal to a living wage or does the fare need to go up? If the fare goes up will consumers continue to use the service?

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#90

Post by xiangmin »

Griffinsauce wrote: post #81
xiangmin wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No major revelations of political support They took a kind of strong stance [1] in protesting the recent order that restricted travel from those seven countries, so that's a political statement (whether or not we agree with it.) Their announcement also included some strawman language, which turned off some people: "This weekend, Trump closed the country’s borders to refugees, immigrants, and even documented residen…

Can you explain how it's a strawman? The Muslim ban (as it has been known for a long time) is a ban on people from a particular faith.

> a ban on people from a particular faith

Is it though? For example of Muslim, it does not even affect about 88% of the world's Muslims (Bangladesh, Egypt, Nigeria, Turkey, Malaysia, others)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_by_country

Post reply on HN