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Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

techcrunch.com

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Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#11

Post by gumby »

benatkin wrote: post #4

This means opening Google Maps less, and opening the Uber app more. The ability of Google Maps to show an estimated Uber price and provide a link to the Uber app is nice for Uber but it's better for Uber to have users opening their own app than to have a tiny feature in another company's app. They might be providing walking directions in the future, I think. And once it's a fully-fledged map app, having it track your…

You can still get Uber pricing directly from inside Apple Maps but Lyft abandoned this plug in. Funny, where I live Lyft was always more expensive, as was completely obvious when I used Apple Maps.

Lyft is cheaper in some markets but I was so annoyed by their fear of comparison that I have stopped using them. And Uber aren't saints, so this is a missed opportunity for Lyft.

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#14

Post by gumby »

If shorter rides are a better deal ($/km) for Uber and the drivers I can see a win in using uber to/from transit stations, especially as in the USA train stations and the like tend to be built away from where people actually want to be. And transit lines in the USA interconnect poorly (the Bay Area is an extreme example but not the only case).

For example using Uber from my house to Caltrain and from the SF Caltrain to my friend's house would be a convenient single booking.

OTOH I am not sure it's true that short trips are more profitable (for Uber or drivers) in which case this is presumably a PR effort.

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#15

Post by woolvalley »

filoleg wrote: post #8
drivers99 wrote: post #5

/r/denver discussion: https://old.reddit.com/r/Denver/comments/alsm56/uber_transit... RTD already has their own app for buying tickets. Transit app (or google maps) work well for planning trips. You can’t even actually buy a ticket yet on the Uber app. > Uber is aiming to increase efficiency, enhance the experience and increase equity and accessibility What does that mean?

>What does that mean? It is so vague, it means absolutely anything you want to imagine, and nothing specific. I would be surprised if a variation of that specific line you quoted didn’t end up in the next season of HBO’s Silicon Valley

efficiency: Minimum time, distance & money

enhance the experience: less stressful / research required / more convenient

increase equity and accessibility: make it cheaper so more people can afford it

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#16

Post by zhoujianfu »

I assume they (and/or lyft and google maps) will eventually do what google maps should already have in my opinion, a final option next to car/walking/bike/transit/taxi: "multi-modal".

A lot of times the fastest way to get somewhere in LA is actually: walk to a scooter, scoot to the train, train to the closest stop, then uber to your final destination.

But that isn't shown automatically and it's a lot of work to calculate it yourself.

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#17

Post by kcorbitt »

zhoujianfu wrote: post #16

I assume they (and/or lyft and google maps) will eventually do what google maps should already have in my opinion, a final option next to car/walking/bike/transit/taxi: "multi-modal". A lot of times the fastest way to get somewhere in LA is actually: walk to a scooter, scoot to the train, train to the closest stop, then uber to your final destination. But that isn't shown automatically and it's a lot of work to calcu…

I use Citymapper for this; have for years (https://citymapper.com/). It does exactly what you're asking for. I too am surprised that Google hasn't eaten their lunch by baking this into Google Maps.

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#18

Post by BHSPitMonkey »

zhoujianfu wrote: post #16

I assume they (and/or lyft and google maps) will eventually do what google maps should already have in my opinion, a final option next to car/walking/bike/transit/taxi: "multi-modal". A lot of times the fastest way to get somewhere in LA is actually: walk to a scooter, scoot to the train, train to the closest stop, then uber to your final destination. But that isn't shown automatically and it's a lot of work to calcu…

Google Maps announced this back in October:

> Drive , walk and ride : support for mixed-mode commutes

> There’s a new feature for people whose commutes involve both driving and public transit. You can see helpful information about when to leave, and for each leg of your trip: you’ll know if there’s traffic on your drive, when the next train departs, and how long it’ll take to walk from the train station to the office. We do the work for you and automatically factor this into your ETA so you can anticipate exactly when you’ll get to work.

https://www.blog.google/products/maps/take-control-your-comm...

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#20

Post by stu_k »

zhoujianfu wrote: post #16

I assume they (and/or lyft and google maps) will eventually do what google maps should already have in my opinion, a final option next to car/walking/bike/transit/taxi: "multi-modal". A lot of times the fastest way to get somewhere in LA is actually: walk to a scooter, scoot to the train, train to the closest stop, then uber to your final destination. But that isn't shown automatically and it's a lot of work to calcu…

Citymapper[1] will do that to a certain extent and it’s pretty good, especially with docked bikes.

I wish I could tell it I like walking more than catching a connecting bus, so I’m occasionally working on a side project to allow custom routes for common commutes.

[1] https://citymapper.com

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