Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 107 posts

Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo

#21

Post by CPLX »

needle0 wrote: post #3

I've used JapanTaxi (mentioned in the article) a fair number of times, and while there's nothing wrong with the experience of the app, oftentimes the biggest competitor to these ride-hailing apps is the fact that Tokyo's roads are so densely populated with taxis cruising everywhere that it's often faster to just hail one passing by than to open an app on your phone. I feel the Uber service itself has a sort of a 'pre…

I’ve only been in Tokyo once ten years ago but I remember the regular taxis there being staggeringly expensive. Are app based rides really more expensive than that?

Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo

#22

Post by kuschku »

odiroot wrote: post #20
mseidl wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

German taxis are fine.

Not really, usually super pricey and try to scam you by taking a longer route.

But you can see the route and price beforehand on the mytaxi or taxi.eu apps? (Which existed before Uber, btw)

Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo

#23

Post by runeb »

mseidl wrote: post #10
odiroot wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are taxis there not trying to scam you as it is everywhere in the EU?

German taxis are fine.

Interestingly, Uber in Germany (Berlin at least) are taxis

https://www.rbb24.de/content/dam/rbb/rbb/rbb24/2018/2018_10/...

Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo

#24

Post by Timpy »

odiroot wrote: post #7
Vizarddesky wrote: post #6

Doesn’t matter, nobody will use it. Taxi service in japan is good enough to where this won’t be a big factor. Ride hailing services are much more expensive than taxi’s.

Are taxis there not trying to scam you as it is everywhere in the EU?

I guess it depends on who you ask, but living in Japan I got the impression they're seen as an important role in society. Every taxi I had ever taken had a middle aged man in a business suit driving. I'm not talking about "getting picked up from the airport on business" taxi drivers, I received extremely professional service any time of night from any random street. Others in this thread point out that they're sometimes crabby, but as long as you know the basics of Japanese etiquette I think you're in for a good experience. While a was cautious at first (as any person in a foreign country ought to be), I quickly stopped feeling like I needed to protect myself from scams.

Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo

#25

Post by fenomas »

needle0 wrote: post #3

I've used JapanTaxi (mentioned in the article) a fair number of times, and while there's nothing wrong with the experience of the app, oftentimes the biggest competitor to these ride-hailing apps is the fact that Tokyo's roads are so densely populated with taxis cruising everywhere that it's often faster to just hail one passing by than to open an app on your phone. I feel the Uber service itself has a sort of a 'pre…

> feel the Uber service itself has a sort of a 'premium' feeling around it in Japan

I don't think it has any sort of feeling around it really - it's very small here and doesn't advertise, so I think you'd be fairly hard pressed to find someone off the street who's heard of it. (Unless they know it from Uber Eats that is, which does seem to be picking up steam.)

Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo

#26

Post by tfw5012 »

CPLX wrote: post #21
needle0 wrote: post #3

I've used JapanTaxi (mentioned in the article) a fair number of times, and while there's nothing wrong with the experience of the app, oftentimes the biggest competitor to these ride-hailing apps is the fact that Tokyo's roads are so densely populated with taxis cruising everywhere that it's often faster to just hail one passing by than to open an app on your phone. I feel the Uber service itself has a sort of a 'pre…

I’ve only been in Tokyo once ten years ago but I remember the regular taxis there being staggeringly expensive. Are app based rides really more expensive than that?

No, they're actually slightly more expensive than a regular taxi. The growth limiter for Uber in Japan is the strict regulation around transportation vehicles, partly due to the government's close ties with the taxi industry, and partly because I think the government wants to disincentivize car use in its bigger cities (this makes a lot of sense, since in Japan's large cities, public transportation is quite good).

Because of this, any kind of commercial activity using a motorized vehicle is highly regulated - services like UberX are impossible to launch in Japan. Even for food delivery, delivery drivers all ride bicycles.

Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo

#27

Post by tfw5012 »

nihonde wrote: post #15
Vizarddesky wrote: post #6

Doesn’t matter, nobody will use it. Taxi service in japan is good enough to where this won’t be a big factor. Ride hailing services are much more expensive than taxi’s.

Completely agree. In Kyoto, where I live, taxis are everywhere and cheap. That’s true even though I’m picky and try to use an MK cab whenever possible (top class of service, IMO). Cab drivers in Japan usually take pride in their work. It’s not uncommon to see one waiting outside a home and scrambling to meet the passengers at their front door with an open umbrella. Having said that, in Kyoto, more than anywhere else,…

> Cab drivers in Japan usually take pride in their work

This is more of a Japanese work mentality than cab drivers being some high-skilled craftsman type class of workers. Cab drivers in Japan are generally very overworked and the demographics look quite bad: average age is something like 55, few newcomers because the pay isn't good and the hours are bad.

Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo

#29

Post by CaptainZapp »

CPLX wrote: post #21
needle0 wrote: post #3

I've used JapanTaxi (mentioned in the article) a fair number of times, and while there's nothing wrong with the experience of the app, oftentimes the biggest competitor to these ride-hailing apps is the fact that Tokyo's roads are so densely populated with taxis cruising everywhere that it's often faster to just hail one passing by than to open an app on your phone. I feel the Uber service itself has a sort of a 'pre…

I’ve only been in Tokyo once ten years ago but I remember the regular taxis there being staggeringly expensive. Are app based rides really more expensive than that?

I think a big part of what makes them expensive is the massive distances you may have to travel in Tokyo.

Distances you often don't realise how large they are when using the awesome public transportation offerings.

Price per kilometer & wait time seems higher in Zurich, for example.

Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo

#30

Post by enz »

needle0 wrote: post #3

I've used JapanTaxi (mentioned in the article) a fair number of times, and while there's nothing wrong with the experience of the app, oftentimes the biggest competitor to these ride-hailing apps is the fact that Tokyo's roads are so densely populated with taxis cruising everywhere that it's often faster to just hail one passing by than to open an app on your phone. I feel the Uber service itself has a sort of a 'pre…

> I feel the Uber service itself has a sort of a 'premium' feeling around it in Japan, with the cars/staff/pricing being higher-class than the run-of-the-mill taxis you can hail.

Even for a limo-class car, it's hard to beat the Toyota "JPN Taxi" model. Thoses high roof taxis are so fine!

Besides, being able to pay with a Suica card is very convenient.

Post reply on HN