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

321–330 of 527 posts

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

#321

Post by tim333 »

systematical wrote: post #193

I'm really surprised that Lyft and Uber are not profitable. As for which is better. Uber once charged my friend $80 for a 15 minute ride in Salt Lake City around midnight. There is a markup and a then there is bend over. They marked up a bend over on that one. I try my best not to use them. I also like the option of giving a tip.

On the other hand when I visited SF I did five rides on Lyft and got charged $0.79 in total which I thought very nice of them but not very profitable. They gave me one of their intro deals.

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

#322

Post by Insanity »

TheArcane wrote: post #205
deusex_ wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Europe, your bus fare would be half of the price and probably you would need one or two connections. The public transport is much more developed and to me seems like a much better mass transportation alternative. More ecological, cheaper, less cars overall.

€30 in my city for unlimited bus travel for a month.

Similar here, about 30euro per month for unlimited bus travel, but not just inside my city, it's for an area covering about half the country. (Bus- and tram lines)

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

#323

Post by [deleted] »

aianus wrote: post #314
Doctor_Fegg wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not at all. I can work or read on a train. I can't do that in a car. Nor does the car take me to London in 1hr15, at up to 125mph, like the public transport from our town[1] does. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_180

Why can't you work in a car? You're guaranteed to have a seat, for one, unlike public transport.

[deleted]

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

#324

Post by dagw »

deusex_ wrote: post #160
foxfired wrote: post #127

Here is how I see it. I rely on those rides to go to work every single day and here what it (would) costs me. Uber: $250 a month.(Majority) Lyft: $500 a month (Whenever Uber is too expensive) Bus : $100 a month (1h:15 for 6 miles and 3 buses... No) Politics and all internal conflicts aside, there is a need for these services whether we like it or not. When I need to make a decision in the morning I take whatever is t…

In Europe, your bus fare would be half of the price and probably you would need one or two connections. The public transport is much more developed and to me seems like a much better mass transportation alternative. More ecological, cheaper, less cars overall.

In Europe, your bus fare would be half of the price

Which Europe? ~$100 pr month seems about par for the course for most major cities I've looked at, and some cities, like London, charge quite a bit more.

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

#325

Post by andruby »

op00to wrote: post #297
deusex_ wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Europe, your bus fare would be half of the price and probably you would need one or two connections. The public transport is much more developed and to me seems like a much better mass transportation alternative. More ecological, cheaper, less cars overall.

"Yes, but poor people use public transportation to come from bad neighborhoods to good neighborhoods to rob us! We must ban all expansion of public transportation!" This exact sentiment is echoed by many in the US as a reason to not expand public transit. When asked about criminals driving cars to commit crimes, they were not open to bulldozing the roads over. It's gross.

Is that quote a real statement or an exaggeration? I can't phantom how people could blame mass transportation for increasing robberies.

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

#326

Post by Xylakant »

conanbatt wrote: post #305
Xylakant wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taxis in Germany are regulated as part of the public transport. The state may even force Taxi companies to put more cars on the road, they are obliged by law to take on any passenger and there is a public supervision. In return, Taxis receive some benefits. Uber tried to take the benefits but not the obligations. Stuff like that doesn't fly here. That's what got them banned.

What benefits are you talking about? As a taxi your only (and important benefit) is the monopolization of your business by the local government. All the rest are plays around that. Also, misses the point: the argument that infrastructure in europe is so much better that there is not a demand or a need for services like uber and lyft contradict the necessity of several cities to ban it. Otherwise they wouldnt have had…

> necessity of several cities to ban it

Uber has not been banned in Germany. They provided an illegal service and have never applied for a permit. They have never been legal. They also had drivers operate without the required health certificates and without the required insurance. (The usual "independent contractor and we're just an intermediary" dance didn't fly either - if you're soliciting an illegal service you're not protected by law just be because you're not directly providing the service.)

Please also note that not all of Ubers services in Germany have been illegal and some still operate. Notably, the classic car-for-hire service is legal, but seems to be making losses, so yes, they failed.

> As a taxi your only (and important benefit) is the monopolization of your business by the local government.

The following describes the situation in Berlin. Since Taxi regulation is partly local, things will differ slightly elsewhere, but the gist applies. Data is from 2012, so somewhat outdated but nothing major changed.

Monopoly is not an important benefit for the local taxi industry. There are about 3000 Taxi companies in Berlin, of which the large majority owns 1 car and only about 10% own three or more cars (about 7000 cars, one per 500 inhabitants). Taxi licenses in Berlin are effectively unrestricted. If you want one, prove that you're not convicted of a crime that makes you ineligible, fill in a 6 page form and hand proof of insurance and some papers, pay a fee, wait. Drivers need to pass a health check every few years (vision test etc) and a one-time knowledge test. All in all, a few hundred to a low thousand EUR and you're in business.

However, Uber didn't even consider applying for a local license here, well, "because". They consciously chose to run an unlicensed Taxi service and spin it as if they'd be unfairly treated by authorities. (Eine Runde Mitleid)

Licenses may be restricted in other jurisdictions or even - since it's a part of the public transport network, Taxis may even be subsidized (Ruftaxi for example)

Benefits that Taxis enjoy is that they're allowed to use lanes restricted for public transport (they are public transport) and may stop on any road at any time to pick up passengers. There are restricted parking spaces at airports, train stations and in central locations that are reserved for taxis.

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

#327

Post by _jdams »

foxfired wrote: post #127

Here is how I see it. I rely on those rides to go to work every single day and here what it (would) costs me. Uber: $250 a month.(Majority) Lyft: $500 a month (Whenever Uber is too expensive) Bus : $100 a month (1h:15 for 6 miles and 3 buses... No) Politics and all internal conflicts aside, there is a need for these services whether we like it or not. When I need to make a decision in the morning I take whatever is t…

$100 a month for bus? Hahah Try North Jersey to Port Authority NYC - it will cost you $250+

A typical round trip pass for the day costs $23 ($11.50 each way).

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

#328

Post by wcummings »

kobeya wrote: post #279
jsemrau wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

European cities are not smaller in terms of population or services offered. It's just European cities are better planned compared to most American cities. This whole "suburban" lifestyle .....

Some people like suburbia.

People liking something doesn't make it sustainable.

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

#329

Post by espadrine »

dagw wrote: post #324
deusex_ wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Europe, your bus fare would be half of the price and probably you would need one or two connections. The public transport is much more developed and to me seems like a much better mass transportation alternative. More ecological, cheaper, less cars overall.

In Europe, your bus fare would be half of the price Which Europe? ~$100 pr month seems about par for the course for most major cities I've looked at, and some cities, like London, charge quite a bit more.

Paris has a 66.92€/month ($70.38/month) pass including bus, train, tramway.

http://www.navigo.fr/titres/le-forfait-navigo-annuel-tarifs-...

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

#330

Post by wcummings »

vacri wrote: post #284
pseud0r wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Damn Uber is cheap where you live. For me to go to work it would be Uber: $1000 a month, 15 minute drive. Train: $75 a month, takes 5 minutes

Is the train door-to-door?

My old commute was pretty much door-to-door on the bus, I had to walk one block to the stop and it dumped me right next to the office. Not a bad deal for under $2.

If I want to take a train downtown, I can take one of three bus lines to one of two different train lines, all without walking much more than a block. The buses have GPS on them so I don't even have to leave my house until the bus is nearly at the stop. There's also a bike path that gets me 90% of the way from my house to one of the stations. I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't want to pay 5-10x more for Uber to avoid 5 minutes of walking.

Post reply on HN