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Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

economist.com

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Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#141

Post by posguy »

developer2 wrote: post #138
posguy wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gas, wear and tear & depreciation aren't free though, these are always going to be higher cost areas to serve.

Except that you are not paying for "gas, wear and tear & depreciation" when you call a taxi. You're not even paying for the human driver. You are paying for the monopoly. Even if calling a driverless car cost more for remote areas, it would (or at least could ) still cost a fraction of the cost of a taxi. $30 instead of $120 for a long distance drive is totally reasonable.

$30 for a 8 mile trip when your making $7hr is really hard on the budget. It might be way cheaper, but it is still unfordable for the median person in a rural area.

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#142

Post by cmarschner »

jhpaul wrote: post #65

Based on personal experiences this isn't surprising. When I was in college in a small town in the late 00's, many friends and acquaintances would drive across town after heavy drinking. 10-15 minutes, straight roads, little traffic. Other than not going out, or not getting home, you didn't have many options. It was a hour long walk or a $20-40 cab ride, if you could get one. I was recently back in town for a wedding…

>Other than not going out, or not getting home, you didn't have many options.

I don't understand. Of course you do! Just go out and don't drink...!

When I grew up we would just take turns. A car seats 5, so you would be the driver every 5 times. That's not too bad...

You could still have a beer or two, or just have a sober evening and the next day without a hang-over.

Also, everyone knew the formula by which blood alcohol gets reduced over time, and how much alcohol would be in a glass of beer. At one rare event when I knew I would have pretty much maxed out my quota I once got in a police control and got tested at night. It was very accurate... I missed the limit by 0.02 per mill. I played a bit safer from then on, though. The limit in our area is at 0.5 per mill, but if you had an accident with over 0.2 you might already get in trouble with insurance coverage. Apart from the fact that of course the risk of having an accident goes up and can destroy lives.

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#143

Post by Terribledactyl »

nikcub wrote: post #59
username223 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps, but don't call it "sharing," because sharing is reciprocal. If it were actually sharing, you would be driving for Uber as much as the people who chauffeur you around. Call them what they are: unlicensed taxis. Also, "the general willingness of people to embrace the gig economy" is just another way of saying "many people are desperate enough to do sub-minimum-wage piecework."

> because sharing is reciprocal. This didn't sound right so I looked it up[0] No mention of it being reciprocal - which makes sense for almost every use of "sharing" I can think of When I share my sandwich I'm not receiving any other sandwich from anybody else (perhaps if I was I'd share more often) Anyway, its not easy to defend Uber and I don't want to be labeled that way - since I've boycotted the service more tha…

I would just argue that dictionary.com has missed a context for sharing. Consider, "They shared everything." It's best understood as the reciprocal agreement to either partition or grant access to possessions.

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#144

Post by [deleted] »

posguy wrote: post #141
developer2 wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except that you are not paying for "gas, wear and tear & depreciation" when you call a taxi. You're not even paying for the human driver. You are paying for the monopoly. Even if calling a driverless car cost more for remote areas, it would (or at least could ) still cost a fraction of the cost of a taxi. $30 instead of $120 for a long distance drive is totally reasonable.

$30 for a 8 mile trip when your making $7hr is really hard on the budget. It might be way cheaper, but it is still unfordable for the median person in a rural area.

[deleted]

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#146

Post by xxs »

zer0tonin wrote: post #136
xxs wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in some place drunk riding a bike might have similar repercussions [incl. criminal charges above certain levels].

It's harder to kill someone on a bike tho.

besides yourself running into cars, that try to avoid you... and run into someone else...

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#147

Post by acjohnson55 »

metafunctor wrote: post #92
jhpaul wrote: post #65

Based on personal experiences this isn't surprising. When I was in college in a small town in the late 00's, many friends and acquaintances would drive across town after heavy drinking. 10-15 minutes, straight roads, little traffic. Other than not going out, or not getting home, you didn't have many options. It was a hour long walk or a $20-40 cab ride, if you could get one. I was recently back in town for a wedding…

It has always amazed me how casually people drink and drive in some countries; the US especially springs to mind. Over here, drinking and driving is an extremely shameful and embarrassing thing to do. I would say it's on par with hitting a child. You just don't do it, not to save 20 bucks, or to save you from walking an hour.

You should see British Virgin Islands.

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#148

Post by maccard »

nsnick wrote: post #87
qyv wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not he accessibility of ride-sharing services that is doing this, it is the ride-sharing services policy of artificially low pricing to facilitate rapid growth that is responsible. Those $9 rides are not sustainable. When the prices go back up to sustainable levels we will see many of these benefits evaporate.

It is not the cost of the ride, it is the fact that an Uber driver will actually show up. In many cities if you call a taxi company at 2am, no one will answer.

I've booked cabs before going out (UK) and had the agree to meeting me at 2/3am at a specific locstion, and they just don't show sometimes.

I've had one no show über driver, and when he didn't show another showed up in his place.

Re: Ride-hailing apps may help to curb drunk driving

#150

Post by cm2187 »

jhpaul wrote: post #65

Based on personal experiences this isn't surprising. When I was in college in a small town in the late 00's, many friends and acquaintances would drive across town after heavy drinking. 10-15 minutes, straight roads, little traffic. Other than not going out, or not getting home, you didn't have many options. It was a hour long walk or a $20-40 cab ride, if you could get one. I was recently back in town for a wedding…

I completely agree. I wonder how self driving cars (i.e. no driver to watch you) are going to change that. The consensus is that we will be using shared cars as opposed to owning your own car. But if the tube in London gives us any indication, when you order a self driving car in London on a Saturday night, you are likely to find it covered with vomit and other bodily fluids. I do believe that owning a self driving car will still be a thing. (and for another reason: everyone will need it at the same time).
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