I thought the general plan for ride-hailing companies was to exploit human drivers while losing piles of money in the hope that AI would eventually replace humans and make the whole venture profitable. I haven't heard anything about Sony having a self-driving car division, so what's their plan?
Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
41–50 of 107 posts
Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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. Isn't the average Japanese taxi some big Toyota Crown sedan already? How much more premium than that can you go?
> Isn't the average Japanese taxi some big Toyota Crown sedan already? How much more premium than that can you go? Toyota Century :) https://www.wsj.com/articles/japans-new-emperor-picks-his-ri... Edit: Super short TL;DR from the article > Introduced in 1967, the Century isn’t for the flashy or hasty. Prospective customers can wait months because Toyota hand-builds each one. Background checks ensure the buyer is of a…
Are we sure that's the same car used for taxis?
Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
#43I thought the general plan for ride-hailing companies was to exploit human drivers while losing piles of money in the hope that AI would eventually replace humans and make the whole venture profitable. I haven't heard anything about Sony having a self-driving car division, so what's their plan?
They are actually partnering up with already existing taxi companies. They are not employing regular people
Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
#44I'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…
> 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.
Sounds like it could work well with rideshare to save money?
Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
#45I went to Japan last year and speak rudimentary japanese. One big challenge for taxi use was always explaining where I needed to go. If I could have plugged in the address in an app, I would have saved myself some confusion. That said, the Tokyo taxi drivers know the city better than any driver I've ever seen ever. GPS is almost a complete waste on them.
Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
#46I thought the general plan for ride-hailing companies was to exploit human drivers while losing piles of money in the hope that AI would eventually replace humans and make the whole venture profitable. I haven't heard anything about Sony having a self-driving car division, so what's their plan?
Taxi companies are profitable, and it's normal for big Japanese companies to have diverse business lines (Mitsubishi mining, Nissan insurance...)
Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sony is not "one company", they have tons of independent branches/divisions working separately on different projects, so the failure of one group does not infer the failure of another.
Then why is it that every Sony product I've used feels clunky? Perhaps it is an issue with their approach to QA than any of the individual teams. If so, I don't expect this app to be any different. Regardless, if people associate your brand with "clunky", they'll find reasons to dislike even a quality app. You really need to be consistent across your product lines to benefit from brand recognition.
I boycott Sony for other reasons but Uber is also pretty evil.
Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Isn't the average Japanese taxi some big Toyota Crown sedan already? How much more premium than that can you go? Toyota Century :) https://www.wsj.com/articles/japans-new-emperor-picks-his-ri... Edit: Super short TL;DR from the article > Introduced in 1967, the Century isn’t for the flashy or hasty. Prospective customers can wait months because Toyota hand-builds each one. Background checks ensure the buyer is of a…
Are we sure that's the same car used for taxis?
He's answering the question "How much more premium than that can you go"
Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
#49I'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, with the cars/staff/pricing being higher-class than the run-of-the-mill taxis you can hail. Isn't the average Japanese taxi some big Toyota Crown sedan already? How much more premium than that can you go?
>>How much more premium than that can you go?
Hmmm; From my limited time in Japan / Tokyo, almost all the cars were Toyota Comforts [1]. I have not entered in a more basic and rudimentary vehicle in 25 years.
I mean, it's _fine_. Whatever. Gets you from point A to point B. You get a feeling it'll likely do so reliably, and if not, virtually everything might be fixable with a hammer. But I wouldn't have called it premium...
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Comfort
P.S. The "Automatic rear doors", at least in the versions I've been in, is basically a string/lever that goes from driver to the rear door. Again, it _works_, but when I hear "Japan" and "Automatic", my mind conjures a rather different picture. However, that was true of much of my personal experience in Japan - pragmatic and reliable automation, over fancy image. And cassette tapes everywhere... :P
Re: Sony launches a taxi-hailing app in Tokyo
#50I'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.
Love paying with a suica for taxi and basically anything, I've stopped taking any taxi that does not accept it and I'm considering changing my laundry place just because of this.