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

nytimes.com

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

#451

Post by dmalvarado »

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…

Ride a bike to a stop on the most direct bus line.

Typically, whenever I want to go downtown for a big event, I'll find a busline that goes to that area, then trace its route to the outskirts. I go ride/drive there and take the bus in. Much cheaper, less parking hassle.

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

#452

Post by wlll »

mtw wrote: post #377
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…

The solution is reliable public transport. The way i see it, Uber is half price because it is sustained by VC money and ever-decreasing pay for drivers. Taxis or Ubers are in theory your own private vehicle or limo. It should be special occasions. Because you're late to the meeting. Or have to go the airport. Or because you had a drink too much. Having a private vehicle for everyday transport is a luxury and it shoul…

The solution to some problems is reliable public transport, and I am all for improvement, but not a solution to all transport problems.

For instance "I want to get from A to B when I want and in comfort" is not one of those problems in a large number of cases.

Public and private transport have different tradeoffs. I use both when the venn diagram of my requirements and the provision of the transport variety overlaps most.

Eg.

Car to the next town because a bus would be too slow/costly (once you own a car in the NW England busses cost a lot)

Train when I go to Manchester (faster, parking is a problem)

Train when I go to London (faster, though perhaps more expensive, comfortable, parking again)

Car when I go climbing. I don't have much gear, but I do tend to not know in advance exactly when I want to go.

Taxi when I stay out past my last train in Manchester.

You can make public transport better, but it's going to be very hard to make it on-demand, or with the same comfort level as a private car.

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

#453

Post by dmalvarado »

accountface wrote: post #431
mtw wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The solution is reliable public transport. The way i see it, Uber is half price because it is sustained by VC money and ever-decreasing pay for drivers. Taxis or Ubers are in theory your own private vehicle or limo. It should be special occasions. Because you're late to the meeting. Or have to go the airport. Or because you had a drink too much. Having a private vehicle for everyday transport is a luxury and it shoul…

Uber's pricing is definitely too low. I paid $3.75 for a 20 minute ride at one point and decided to stop using it entirely because that just seems like exploitation. I'm completely willing to pay more to give workers better wages. Lyft (and other competitors) not only charge more, but drivers keep more of it.

Isn't Uber heavily subsidizing fares with capital funding? I thought that was part of their monopoly strategy.

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

#454

Post by cmdrfred »

Retric wrote: post #439
cmdrfred wrote: post #429

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Except, you know. Less drunk driving, less traffic, less pollution, fewer road fatalities, and less tax money spent on road maintenance. Those little things. How do people who are not served by public transit feel any of these effects? > And what "many millions of people?" Public transit is mostly paid for by municipal taxes, not federal. My point exactly, this is how it should be but municipalities are rather cash…

If only local roads existed: Trains would have continued to serve most locations cheaply. The federal highway system did great damage to the far more efferent but far less subsidized train network. Trans take less land, less capital, fewer workers, less fuel, and cause fewer deaths.

I suggest you look into the history of that. Rail lines created massive monopolies that had a stranglehold on American businesses until the creation of highways. Why are goods even transported via trucks if rail is such a viable and cheaper alternative? Are business owners simply dumb?

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

#455

Post by patrickyan »

mc32 wrote: post #111
freyr wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Exactly! Charge me what you're going to charge. None of this tipping nonsense. It's really a vestige of former times when if someone felt nice enough they'd offer you a tip --not that you deserved it, but it was to show they had heart, a kind of virtue signal. Why would Lyft want to continue this anachronistic idea which puts the burden on a fare? It's the number one reason I do not use Lyft.

Just don't tip. I don't know anyone who actually tips in Lyft.

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

#456

Post by patrickyan »

hueving wrote: post #343
erispoe wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet it was sold as a Muslim ban by the administration, which is a major reason for San Francisco's federal appeal court to suspend it. The fact that it's not an effective Muslim ban is a different question.

>Yet it was sold as a Muslim ban by the administration Do you have a source for this? There is so much political noise that the only place I've heard it is second-hand from people trying to avoid the contents of the actual executive order and block it based on feelings.

Giuliani said on national television that Trump asked him how he could legally ban Muslims. He boasted that he came up with the idea that banning countries would be legal because it's based on nationality, not religion. When asked why he didn't ban countries that we know sponsored terror attacks like Saudi Arabia, he said they have changed.

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

#457

Post by gist »

mtw wrote: post #377
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…

The solution is reliable public transport. The way i see it, Uber is half price because it is sustained by VC money and ever-decreasing pay for drivers. Taxis or Ubers are in theory your own private vehicle or limo. It should be special occasions. Because you're late to the meeting. Or have to go the airport. Or because you had a drink too much. Having a private vehicle for everyday transport is a luxury and it shoul…

> Having a private vehicle for everyday transport is a luxury and it shouldn't be an easy or sustainable option. Unless you are wealthy.

What? There are plenty of people living in the suburbs (in the US) that own a car (even 2) and use it for daily commuting and they are not 'wealthy'. And public transportation isn't even an option in those places.

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

#458

Post by fyolnish »

pm90 wrote: post #449
Nadya wrote: post #425

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For all of your mega city visits, have you been to Tokyo? If so what did you find unreliable about it? The one criticism I can see is when transport is slowed/halted due to typhoons. I found that the public transportation in most of Japan was well enough, such that I never thought to myself "If only I had a car/rental right now..." Not to mention how punctual the transportation is. Compared to where I live, where del…

How can these trains possibly be profitable with that kind of schedule? In fact I remember reading somewhere that they lose money... Which made me wonder whether that kind of loss is OK and can be waived off as a govt. benefit in lieu of private car ownership. I don't know how the economics would work out, but it would be interesting to see how they compare.

Some lines lose money, but other lines make more money than is lost. The losing lines are still important because if the system doesn't have enough coverage, people won't trust it.

It also happens to be the case that the lines with "that kind of schedule" are the most profitable lines. That's why they run so often.

JR East (All of Japan above Kanto) finances: http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/investor/ar/2016/pdf/ar_2016-02.pd...

According to Wikipedia Tokyo Metro made ¥63 billion in 2009.

Tokyo also has the biggest Taxi economy in the world, but as a parent said, they're more for special occasions, and cost about as much as you'd expect to pay someone to be your personal driver.

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

#459

Post by clw8 »

MaxfordAndSons wrote: post #433
wcummings wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"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 is why the (Boston) red line doesn't extend to Arlington.

...and why most of Chicago's south and southwest sides are barely accessibly by the CTA Rail.

TBF the north/south rail coverage discrepancy already existed a hundred years ago when you could get from the Loop to Evanston with one transfer at Uptown Station. Though perhaps the same mentality applied but towards the Irish.

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

#460

Post by [deleted] »

_jdams wrote: post #327
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).

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