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Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

nytimes.com

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Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#881

Post by nullnilvoid »

davidf18 wrote: post #701

Much of the resistance to Uber (such as laws that were broken, protests) were from entrenched interests. At least where I live in NYC, Uber was dramatically improving customer value while providing innovations that reduced greenhouse gas. It provided completion for the entrenched Yellow Cab monopoly with its very high rates. Sometimes Uber would have higher rates but then you could take a Yellow Cab instead. The Yell…

Uber provides certain value to customers. It would not exist in the first place if it does not. Riders get cheaper and faster rides than old taxi cabs. Drivers get jobs which would be harder otherwise. However, does that justify Uber's unethical behaviors? Does that justify sexually harassing female employees? Does that justify evading regulations with a Greyball tool? Does that justify stealing your competitor's technologies (think of Waymo here)?

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#882

Post by goobynight »

ajamesm wrote: post #724
davidf18 wrote: post #701

Much of the resistance to Uber (such as laws that were broken, protests) were from entrenched interests. At least where I live in NYC, Uber was dramatically improving customer value while providing innovations that reduced greenhouse gas. It provided completion for the entrenched Yellow Cab monopoly with its very high rates. Sometimes Uber would have higher rates but then you could take a Yellow Cab instead. The Yell…

yeah, real shame that the unmitigated sexual harassment got in the way of their complete avoidance of regulations

What were those regulations doing for us as consumers, exactly?

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#883

Post by mcguire »

wgyn wrote: post #840
soneca wrote: post #764

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So why Lyft get none of the protests? I think you are mixing unrelated subjects. Uber final product is good for society. And other companies can provide the same product (in my city, São Paulo, there are other 3 good companies in the same space). Uber practices as a company are toxic for its employees and some of the toxicity leak to society. If such calculation was possible, I believe it would show a net positive im…

Actually such a calculation is possible (of consumer surplus), though perhaps some would argue against one or another part of the methodology. See: http://freakonomics.com/podcast/uber-economists-dream/ or http://www.nber.org/papers/w22627 . > So we found that in 2015, if you extrapolate to the whole U.S., we found that the overall consumer surplus added up to almost $7 billion. So people spent about $4 billion on Ub…

Tl;dr: Uber needs to raise its prices.

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#884

Post by isleyaardvark »

Mikeb85 wrote: post #851
chris_7 wrote: post #753

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, hope that you are white.

I'm going to wager that wearing a suit and/or other indicators of being of a higher social class are far more important than race. I've never seen a rich minority person discriminated against...

Do you believe that the fact that you, personally, have never "seen a rich minority person discriminated against" effectively support your argument? Do you think there are any studies that have been done to try and see if there is racial discrimination in the taxi business? If you haven't tried to look for such studies, why not? Or if you did, why don't you cite them instead of your own personal experience in not seeing rich minorities being discriminated against?

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#885

Post by linkregister »

chimeracoder wrote: post #875
davidf18 wrote: post #752

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Err, the cheaper rates were due to uber subsidising rides with VC money, which was unsustainable. Uber also did start a leasing program for drivers. The cheaper rates in NYC which are extremely high compared with the rest of the USA were because there was no $125 / 12 hour lease fee because there were no medallions. Medallion owners would get mortgages (like houses) for the $1.2 million medallions and the high leas…

> The cheaper rates in NYC which are extremely high compared with the rest of the USA were because there was no $125 / 12 hour lease fee because there were no medallions. As explained elsewhere in the thread, Uber does not and has not ever competed with medallion taxis for their main product (Uber X/Uber Black) in New York City. Uber's direct counterpart would be the for-hire cabs which are also regulated by the TLC,…

The share of taxi rides in Manhattan has decreased by almost the same amount Lyft and Uber rides have increased [1]. The overall number of rides has increased in the other boroughs due to Lyft and Uber ridership.

1. http://toddwschneider.com/posts/analyzing-1-1-billion-nyc-ta...

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#886

Post by r00fus »

hueving wrote: post #426
venture_lol wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

General observations from experience: A well-run company will have proper procedures, processes in place to deal with work place issues. Management and all staff will also be required to take training on a continuous basis. Professionally managed organizations don't walk around "believing" this or that or spouting off "innocent until proven guilty" and such :)

>Management and all staff will also be required to take training on a continuous basis. This is miserable. Unless the definition of sexual harassment changes every 6 months, you should not be forcing employees to retake these training sessions.

We are required to take ethics training like this yearly. Simply doubling that frequency may be justified due to Uber's history.

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#887

Post by ajhurliman »

soneca wrote: post #764
davidf18 wrote: post #701

Much of the resistance to Uber (such as laws that were broken, protests) were from entrenched interests. At least where I live in NYC, Uber was dramatically improving customer value while providing innovations that reduced greenhouse gas. It provided completion for the entrenched Yellow Cab monopoly with its very high rates. Sometimes Uber would have higher rates but then you could take a Yellow Cab instead. The Yell…

So why Lyft get none of the protests? I think you are mixing unrelated subjects. Uber final product is good for society. And other companies can provide the same product (in my city, São Paulo, there are other 3 good companies in the same space). Uber practices as a company are toxic for its employees and some of the toxicity leak to society. If such calculation was possible, I believe it would show a net positive im…

The same pushy, aggressive culture that made their some of their employees' lives awful also made it possible to get excellent service that reduces tons of drunk driving and generally improves people's lives.

I really don't think they could've broke into the market by asking politely; it took some fire in the belly. However, the side effects are pretty devastating as well.

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#888

Post by phlakaton »

s73ver wrote: post #829
davidf18 wrote: post #701

Much of the resistance to Uber (such as laws that were broken, protests) were from entrenched interests. At least where I live in NYC, Uber was dramatically improving customer value while providing innovations that reduced greenhouse gas. It provided completion for the entrenched Yellow Cab monopoly with its very high rates. Sometimes Uber would have higher rates but then you could take a Yellow Cab instead. The Yell…

Uber/Lyft have NOT reduced greenhouse gas. Not a bit. Those rides are still being taken, and inbetween rides, those cars are driving around. "while not forcing drivers to pay excessing leasing fees for vehicles." In the same way someone who owed money to the company store didn't have to start doing that, but due to predatory terms, once they did, things get pretty out of hand. And since Uber/Lyft are the ones who dic…

I've taken several rides in Uber cars, and, as it happens, always as one of 2 or 3 passengers. Some of them have been Priuses. I wouldn't doubt that, for those specific rides, emissions have been less than other options I had. I'd be curious to see the actual data before jumping to conclusions one way or another.

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#889

Post by jmspring »

aembleton wrote: post #384
jmspring wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Travis himself has exhibited poor public behavior that was recorded by an Uber driver. That in itself reflects upon the company. Yes his assertiveness and drive got them where they are, but sometimes companies do need to grow up. Jobs was a consistent asshole expecting perfection. That is way different than emboldening a climate of harassment, degradation, etc. that took place under his watch. Having recent external…

Does Lyft operate outside the US?

My bad, it was Left in Seattle. My last international trip was Uber just for the fact that it was the only available service (and takes amex).

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#890

Post by jackfrodo »

shoo wrote: post #593
api_or_ipa wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Excellent examples. To push the point farther, the Dow Jones Industrial Index tracks a basket of 'best in breed' companies. With the exception of General Electric, every company listen in 1896 is no longer listed. That speaks nothing to the many that were listed and removed over the years. Big companies rise and fall, and we often forget the companies that fail all around us.

indeed, some of the companies listed on the dow jones index managed to run at a profit for one or more years.

I don't quite understand. Why would they do that instead of just raise money from more investors?
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