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Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017

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Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017

#111
post #94
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't drive a lot (or own a car) until I graduated from school. But I do have trouble wrapping my head around not getting a driver's license past a certain point--whether they get one while in school or not. Even had Uber/Lyft existed at the time, I literally couldn't have done my first job (I regularly had to drive hours to a job site) and I would have been at least reliant on other people at other jobs. Vacation…

I'm 42 and don't have a drivers license. My dad tried to nudge me into learning to drive, but I had no interest - it seemed to me to be a waste of time. Of course, I lived in Norway, and public transport was good. I now live in London, and transport is still good. I've never really felt limited, though certainly there are places that would be expensive for me to get to thanks to the need of long taxi rides etc., but…

>But the thing is, I can totally see a lot of people there too adapting their life after what works with these services.

I'm sure you're right. That's exactly what people do. There are certainly things I can't do that restrict where I can go. I'm not comfortable doing any sort of serious 4WD so there are just areas of parks and forests out west I just don't go to.

Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017

#112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't necessarily need to buy a junker to have an inexpensive car. You can lease a Fiat 500e for $90/month in California (which is what I do). That has the added benefit of removing fuel costs too.

Uh... how? That seems improbably cheap.

They're inexpensive, you can usually just go to a dealer: http://autoweek.com/article/green-cars/smartphone-or-fiat-50...

Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017

#113
post #39

Automobile ownership is dumb, but ridesharing isn't the answer either. Cities need to invest in public infrastructure, especially fast efficient public transit. People should also rediscover the joy of human power (walk, bike, run).

That's the bubble mentality of someone who lives in the city and/or doesn't have a family. How about you try hauling a baby in a stroller, diaper bag, and two other kids to a metro train (if you're so lucky to have one close) and then onto a bus. Ride sharing doesn't solve those problems, either, especially since you'd be in need of carseats. So no, automobile ownership is not dumb. There's plenty of use cases where…

When my son was 3 months, we took him, his stroller, two large suitcases and assorted smaller stuff on a vacation that involved a train, then a ferry, then a taxi to get to the hotel, followed by multiple buses over the following days, then a taxi, a train, a ferry, another train and a taxi to get to the next hotel, then multiple buses again, before another taxi, a train, a second train, and a taxi to get home.

It was not a problem.

Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017

#114
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't drive a lot (or own a car) until I graduated from school. But I do have trouble wrapping my head around not getting a driver's license past a certain point--whether they get one while in school or not. Even had Uber/Lyft existed at the time, I literally couldn't have done my first job (I regularly had to drive hours to a job site) and I would have been at least reliant on other people at other jobs. Vacation…

25, and live in SF. No drivers license. Well I had one, but it had expired and I never bothered renewing. I've only personally had to drive a car once in the last 4 years. I recently took a job in the Peninsula, where my commute is now Lyft -> Caltrain -> Lyft, which given the cost of parking in my building turns out to still be cheaper than owning a car - this might be an equation unique to SF. The only downside of…

I'm surprised - most bars I know either don't card because they're upscale enough to not worry about minors, or they don't accept any expired ID (or sometimes even other states). In Texas, a state ID can be issued that is identical to a DL but with a different title. Costs something like $10-20.

Or get your passport, but that's $160 with the book + card.

Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017

#115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

25, and live in SF. No drivers license. Well I had one, but it had expired and I never bothered renewing. I've only personally had to drive a car once in the last 4 years. I recently took a job in the Peninsula, where my commute is now Lyft -> Caltrain -> Lyft, which given the cost of parking in my building turns out to still be cheaper than owning a car - this might be an equation unique to SF. The only downside of…

I'm surprised - most bars I know either don't card because they're upscale enough to not worry about minors, or they don't accept any expired ID (or sometimes even other states). In Texas, a state ID can be issued that is identical to a DL but with a different title. Costs something like $10-20. Or get your passport, but that's $160 with the book + card.

I've been using my Passport (card) and that was convenient, however I lost my wallet recently - I've been using my Passport, but if I were to lose that, then I'd be a bit more worried.

As far as carding goes, it depends on the establishment. Most bars I go to, don't card, but when they do it's a situation that can mess up your night.

Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017

#116
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't drive a lot (or own a car) until I graduated from school. But I do have trouble wrapping my head around not getting a driver's license past a certain point--whether they get one while in school or not. Even had Uber/Lyft existed at the time, I literally couldn't have done my first job (I regularly had to drive hours to a job site) and I would have been at least reliant on other people at other jobs. Vacation…

25, and live in SF. No drivers license. Well I had one, but it had expired and I never bothered renewing. I've only personally had to drive a car once in the last 4 years. I recently took a job in the Peninsula, where my commute is now Lyft -> Caltrain -> Lyft, which given the cost of parking in my building turns out to still be cheaper than owning a car - this might be an equation unique to SF. The only downside of…

The thing for me is that, if I were living in that area, I'd be driving into the Santa Cruz mountains, Big Sur, the Sierras, etc. all the time. Which you really can't do unless you drive or someone else drives you.

Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017

#117
post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

25, and live in SF. No drivers license. Well I had one, but it had expired and I never bothered renewing. I've only personally had to drive a car once in the last 4 years. I recently took a job in the Peninsula, where my commute is now Lyft -> Caltrain -> Lyft, which given the cost of parking in my building turns out to still be cheaper than owning a car - this might be an equation unique to SF. The only downside of…

The thing for me is that, if I were living in that area, I'd be driving into the Santa Cruz mountains, Big Sur, the Sierras, etc. all the time. Which you really can't do unless you drive or someone else drives you.

Sure, and if I shared your hobbies, I'd probably have trouble wrapping my head around how people could live without a license too.

Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017

#118

Automobile ownership is dumb, but ridesharing isn't the answer either. Cities need to invest in public infrastructure, especially fast efficient public transit. People should also rediscover the joy of human power (walk, bike, run).

You could have not come off so rude had you changed "dumb" to "not ideal". Are you saying it's dumb that as a country we require vehicle ownership in so many places? Or that people who own vehicles are dumb because they should all take almost non-existent public transit, or because they should lease?

It's lazy to exclaim something so obviously incendiary without following it up with an explanation or a reasonable proposal - "everyone in the country move to a city" not being one.

And for the record, I am from the South, I love vehicles and driving, and I also wish like Hell that we could have trains between the Texas metro areas, and public transit on the freeway corridors to the main business and residential districts. I also know it's a multi-generational effort, if it will ever happen.

Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017

#119
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maintenance is time too. So pulling over and getting gas, bringing a car in for an oil change/replacing air filter/shocks/tire realignment etc. You have to get smog checks regularly. Parking tickets, speeding tickets, street cleaning. Maybe even a parking sticker. Also, don't ever get into an accident. I think a range depending on your risk profile makes more sense. Low end would be $3178 high end might be double tha…

You don't necessarily need to buy a junker to have an inexpensive car. You can lease a Fiat 500e for $90/month in California (which is what I do). That has the added benefit of removing fuel costs too.

Your lease includes fuel?

edit: Nevermind, the "e" in Fiat 500e stands for electric.

Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017

#120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised - most bars I know either don't card because they're upscale enough to not worry about minors, or they don't accept any expired ID (or sometimes even other states). In Texas, a state ID can be issued that is identical to a DL but with a different title. Costs something like $10-20. Or get your passport, but that's $160 with the book + card.

I've been using my Passport (card) and that was convenient, however I lost my wallet recently - I've been using my Passport, but if I were to lose that, then I'd be a bit more worried. As far as carding goes, it depends on the establishment. Most bars I go to, don't card, but when they do it's a situation that can mess up your night.

You could get a passport card too, it's only $55.
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