I've done the math, for sure. It would cost me $1000 per month to use Lyft or Uber for my commute. That's almost exactly twice what my running costs are for owning my commuter car.
Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017
261–270 of 438 posts
Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017
#262Not sure why so many people here are almost virtue signaling the act of not owning a drivers license. I agree—It's perfectly okay to not own a car if it doesn't make sense to your life situation. That being said, the ability to drive is nevertheless a useful skill and asset and at least in the United States, does not have a very high barrier to entry (for better or worse). There is so much in the United States that a…
I have noticed this very strongly just in the last few weeks alone. Anytime a conversation begins that has to do with cars, a whole bunch of people immediately jump in to point how owning a car is immoral, how it destroys the environment, how it kills innocent children, how you should feel ashamed for owning one, etc. Maybe I've missed it before but with the recent spate of self-driving car stories it has become really stark how many people on HN have extremely narrow viewpoints.
Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017
#263> Lyft wants to make a point: Its services help lessen traffic How can this be true? They'd need a very significant fraction of riders using lyft line (the multi-passenger service) to make up for the the overhead in the driver having to travel extra distance to pick someone up.
Indeed, hasn't this already been studied? Lyft & Uber have increased traffic, not reduced it, because the cars are driven a significant amount of the time without any passenger.
Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017
#264Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's just a hassle. For you the cost in time and money is worth it. For other people like myself it's just not. I know "virtue signaling" is the hot new way to disagree with people on the internet but you should use it in a more discriminating manner. Getting a permit is not free in terms of time or money. Getting a license takes even MORE time (pointless outdated mandatory education classes) and MORE money (lessons)…
>All the things I want to do that I value more than driving. This paints you as a very limited person if you are living in the US, because the "things that you want to do" exclude: -pretty much all the great outdoor activities and nature that the US has to offer (National/State Parks); -getting to know your own country and traveling within it -going to any place or event outside the city (for most people, shelling ou…
- nyc has a huge park right in the middle of it and many large ones like prospect and forest park in brooklyn. Upstate new york has some of the greatest hiking in the country. Any number of stops 2 hours or less north of the city will take you to breathtaking natural sights
- I have been to nearly every state in the US. Amtrak and public transit.
- living in a major city means most of the events are here, not in surrounding isolated areas
>"You are a person who doesn't travel, and says they don't want to."
Like I said I've been all over the US and I definitely never said I don't want to travel. It takes a serious lack of imagination to believe you need a license to go places.
>"You are practically tied to your community."
Yup all 9 million of them in their diverse splendor.
BTW for the non driving curious it's very easy to do all of this touristy "I drive because I can go to national parks!!!!" stuff. While travelling around the US for 4 months (without a car) I found that almost every hostel I stayed at offered numerous daily vans for groups who wanted incursions to almost anywhere interesting in the area. Like I said many drivers don't even know these things exist because they're so tied to car culture.
In my experience with travel a car is for people with specific destinations. If you're more of a "the trip is the experience" type of person, you lose a lot of local color by just shutting yourself in your own world from point A to point B.
edit: in response to your edit, I think my original comment addressed your "on the road" suggestion well enough. Let me suggest one thing about your tone. If you find driving a car romantic in the vein of "On the Road" more power to you, I'm not gonna tell you what you know you understand and enjoy. But on the other hand I think you should step back for a minute and think about how much you REALLY know about public transit in the United States considering you willingly admit navigating public transit isn't really your cup of tea. Maybe rather than buying all of the "can you believe America doesn't have bullet trains!!!" hacker news echo chamber you should consider that living a perfectly fulfilling licenseless life is not just possible but actually preferable, yes, here in the "dire broken infrastructure" of the united states.
Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017
#265Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a family member in DFW who has really embraced Uber, and wait times for the area are minimal, and they are around 20 miles from the Downtown area of Dallas (very mid-cities). I never thought that Uber would catch in DFW, and I'm really surprised to see how it's changed life for a few people I know there. Maybe it's been some time since you've tried Uber there, but I'd recommend trying it again. Also my family…
I have worked at Uber for 4 years, but I spent the first 22 years of my life as a resident of Lewisville. It’s been amazing watching the transformation from when I first started (No cars available) to now (ETA ~5 min) around my parents’ house. The last time we were there, my wife dropped me off at a coffee shop to get some work done while she did some errands, and when I was done I got an Uber back home.
I live in Far North Dallas and work in Plano. My experience is the same as yours, just with Lyft instead of Uber.
Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017
#266Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm in a similar situation, but from what I gather lifestyle factors heavily into the "do I need/want a car" equation. Kids, for example, usually mandate a car. Outdoor activities or any hobby that requires you haul around a lot of gear can also make having your own transportation a lot more appealing.
That strongly depends on where you live. Kids don't require a car in New York, but I can't imagine living in a suburb of Dallas without one.
Lifestyle plays a part in where and how you live though. Kids may not require a car in downtown Toronto, but all the nice kid-oriented programs are uptown, where you do need a car to get around.
Similarly, living in SF with two kids, I don't technically _need_ a car since MUNI coverage is decent, but we have a fast-paced lifestyle: it's a heck more convenient to have a car when you are regularly going to costco, ikea, trying out a new local bakery or restaurant, etc, etc... in a single day.
Much like a house becomes a home, the car becomes a "base": it's a place for snacks and naps for the kids, for radio music and breaks, it's where we leave the bags of things to be returned to the mall after brunch, or the three layers of sweaters that are too hot to wear at noon but we'll definitely need on the way home at dusk, it's where we take pictures of the latest ice cream mess and where we have yelling contests when we get lost even though we have 2 GPS-enabled devices running.
We could still do many of those things when we didn't have a car, but it's far more boring, far more exhausting, and far less fun.
Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017
#267Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Taxi's are usually exempt From local laws. From physical laws they are not. As a kid long time ago, I was sitting in a Fiat 124 when a bus driver wasn't paying attention to the road ahead and hit the stationary car on intersection in full city speed, thankfully it was direct hit from behind and there was nothing in front of the car, so there were no serious and only some very light injuries, but it was ugly. But I…
> From local laws. From physical laws they are not. Absolutely, but I think the context was clearly indicating that we were talking about human laws, not physical laws.
I assumed the person you replied to (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16163259) was asking for safety reasons. Your reply was the first mention of law.
Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017
#268Earlier quoted context omitted.
You pay $700/year for insurance as a 25 year old?
The trick to reducing insurance on a beater car is to not insure the car for damage. Just get insurance for passengers, yourself, damage you do to other people, cars and property. Never insure for a risk you can cover yourself. If you have a car that is worth < $10k, you probably should pay for damage to it out of pocket.
In the UK this is known as 'third party' cover, and, when you hit the price comparison websites, it's not always the case that the cheapest third party option is cheaper than the cheapest comprehensive option.
Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017
#269I think the biggest impact is going to be felt with current generations of 18 year olds. My kid (about to be 18) has no interest in getting a driver's license and neither are any of his friends. He's happy to be taking Uber and Lyft anywhere he goes. And between the cost of the vehicle and insurance, it's cheaper for me as well. When I was 16, I couldn't wait to get a car.
Using Uber and Lyft as a primary form of transportation being cheaper than an affordable car... I doubt it.
Re: Lyft says nearly 250K of its passengers ditched a personal car in 2017
#270It's part of the reason I haven't bought a car. I'm in my mid 20s and didn't get my license in high school because insurance would have been too expensive (my parents wanted me to pay for it). I think driving is a good life skill so I got my license in my early 20s, but I still have zero desire to own a car. That said, I live in Seattle, where there is good public transportation. Here are my numbers: Parking (I work…
i think those numbers are describing a lifestyle and not what it means to own a car. many people who own a car will not pay that much for parking. especially if you live 5 miles away from work. assuming you don’t drive to work and park on the street at home your numbers are down to $4100/yr. but your insurance number looks 2x too big, and maintenance i would drop by half, i think more realistic is a about $3,000/yr
Where is parking 5miles is very close to downtown. Street parking sort of works, if you get enough mercy from your neighbors not parking on-street.