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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

#191

Post by Klathmon »

xirdstl wrote: post #84
jnordwick wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And like you know, all the other things he listed: > it's easy to call one from a crowded/loud place, you know how much it will cost, they don't use cash, they know where you are, and you don't have to give directions. p.s., why do people like you want to hate on ride sharing services so much? Is it just that nothing can ever be good enough in your mind?

I upvoted you, but I think this needs reinforcement. These are very valuable considerations when getting a ride home after drinking. In my personal experience, you call a cab, and they may not even come. There's no repercussion for that with traditional taxi services. Uber may be subsidizing pricing now, but there is still a higher price point that provides additional value, particularly for those drinking. Reliabili…

Don't forget about the cost estimates.

Even if ridesharing services were the same price as a taxi, knowing roughly how much it will cost before I even call the thing is a huge plus, and knowing the route they will take me on is even better.

I don't need to be constantly on the lookout to make sure my uber driver isn't trying to fuck me by running the meter going the wrong direction giving me some bullshit about how his way is faster and then when we get there the credit card machine is broken and the fare is 3x what you expected (which is already 2x what it was in your home area).

With uber, if someone pulls that I know I can get a refund with a pretty good chance in success. I haven't ever had a taxi company call me back about anything, half the time the fucking taxi doesn't even show up.

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

#192

Post by dreen »

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…

This may not be the case for most people, but an hour walk after heavy drinking with music in my ears and nothing but empty road and darkness is something I really miss because of uber.

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

#193

Post by alkonaut »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #105
metafunctor wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It isn't that, the cab rides are never just $20, and often there are no cabs at all. The USA just has crappy non car transportation options. And it isn't just an hour walk in many places, but a few hours walk on dark streets with no side walks. When I was living in the Deep South, I sometimes had to take people home 20+ miles out in the middle of nowhere.

Maybe the fact that there are no buses and cabs at night is because people are driving home from bars anyway?

Here's the thing: it's not that we have great transportation, what we don't have is bars and restaurants pop up in some random spot next to a road, with a big parking lot in front. If you build a restaurant like that, you kind of already made clear that it's a restaurant for people in cars.

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

#194

Post by maxerickson »

lsc wrote: post #121
m-j-fox wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walking and cycling are going to get you killed at the same rate if not higher as driving. I guess you're not as likely to kill someone else.

Yup. I think that as a culture, we need to think more about the risks we take with other people's lives. I think this is best demonstrated by the minimum liability insurance required to operate a car. In California, right now, you can drive a car with only $35K in liability insurance... which is crazy. Sure, that will cover most cars, but it won't even cover a moderate injury. Very few people have the assets required…

The minimum insurance won't cover that much vehicle damage, it's mostly bodily injury coverage ($5000 property).

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

#195

Post by qume »

wingerlang wrote: post #106
metafunctor wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> It has always amazed me how casually people drink and drive in some countries; the US especially springs to mind. You should see Thailand. Many districts in Bangkok have their own dedicated pool of motorbike-taxis often located at specific points. The group of them outside my previous apartment frequently shared whiskey or beer with me after dropping me off.

Our Uber driver in Tennessee came into the bar with us and had a few beers.

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

#196

Post by pm90 »

smsm42 wrote: post #98
pm90 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Without great public transportation, it seems rather unlikely for suburban folks to enjoy a lifestyle where you can drink downtown and safely get back home at a decent rate. Ridesharing might be cheaper for now, but I'm not sure what it will be like when the prices truly represent the market value; currently, most ridesharing companies seem to be operating at loss. The ultimate solution might come when autonomous dri…

When new cheaper thing comes to the market, I have heard a lot of sayings along the lines you're saying - they only doing it for now and after they have established themselves they'll jack up the prices. I can't remember any case when it actually happened. I don't mean things like "introductory pricing" when you get short time cheap and then the price rises - you know the deal upfront there. I mean some service compa…

It won't be an explicit money grab. Once they have pushed out other competitors, they will IPO. Then, they will come under pressure from Wall Street to turn a profit (eventually...unless they do a la Amazon and keep creating/expanding into new markets). Then all Uber customers/drivers will see an email like: Dear Customers, Thanks for being a great part of our "community". Due to rising costs/regulations/some_generic_reason, we have to regretfully increase prices by $X.

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

#197

Post by alkonaut »

gambiting wrote: post #179
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].

In Poland riding a bike while drunk results in losing your driving licence.

Same in Sweden. It's not so much riding the bike though - you can actually lose it by just being drunk walking too.

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

#198

Post by sokoloff »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #166
nikcub wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

It's only ride "sharing" if the driver is already driving that way. You're going along with them. If someone shares their sandwich they are eating it too. If someone makes a sandwich to give to you that's not sharing.

If you come visit my house, I'm likely to offer you a drink when you arrive.

If you take me up on a water, I'm sharing my water with you, whether or not I drink a water myself at that moment.

(I'm perfectly happy to call Uber, Lyft, etc "unlicensed taxis" as I do think that's more accurate than "ride sharing"; I just don't agree that it's completely inaccurate to call them ride shares.)

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

#199

Post by qume »

jack9 wrote: post #132
metafunctor wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Just south of the US border, drinking and driving is the norm. Edit: Whoops, guess I hit a nerve with an uncomfortable truth. The lax enforcement in mexico, is just something industrialized people rarely think about...until you get there. But hey, argue about it on the internet and tell that to the drive-up neighborhood beer and fish taco stands from ensenada to tiajuana. I never go farther south, but I'm sure it's t…

erm, i've lived in the US for a few years and mexico about double that, and can say in Mexico it's similar to New Zealand, UK, etc where it's not really acceptable.

But yea the border towns are probably like the worst parts of the US, which is the worst country I've come across when it comes to drunk driving.

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

#200

Post by sokoloff »

jellicle wrote: post #31
lend000 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a strangely bitter way of looking at things. Ride sharing companies, including Uber, have brought tremendous benefits to society, and drunk driving prevention is probably at the top of the list. Uber has made the largest difference of all these companies because it has been the most aggressive in disrupting rent-seekers like taxi companies. The drivers and the general willingness of people to embrace the gig e…

Incorrect. Independent contractors cheerfully 'sharing' their vehicles have made 100% of the difference; Uber does not employ anyone to drive anywhere. The number of drunks driven home by Uber employees is ~0. Thanks independent contractors!

By that logic, has then the AppStore not created any apps, Ebay not sold any goods, Kickstarter not created any products, and GoFundMe not funded any projects?
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