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Uber and Lyft Suggest the Days of Cheap Rides Could Be Over

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Re: Uber and Lyft Suggest the Days of Cheap Rides Could Be Over

#241

Post by sokoloff »

ghaff wrote: post #237
leetcrew wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Except depreciation and other costs are pretty heavily a function of miles rather than time. this isn't really true of most mainstream cars. as long as people perceive the 2020 civic as an improvement over the 2019 model, a 2019 civic with zero miles will be worth less (you can verify this by visiting any dealership that still has the outgoing model in inventory). this is even more true of high-end cars until you g…

Sure, if I'm buying a new car I'll pay less for last year's model all other things being equal. (And the dealership will sure want to provide an incentive for me to buy last year's model.) But if I already own a car, how long I will continue to be able to drive it is far more determined by the mileage than by how old it is within reason. This is admittedly from the perspective of someone who basically drives cars unt…

I think almost anyone would prefer a 5 year old car with 100K miles on it than a 10 year old car with 25K (or 10K) miles on it.

Re: Uber and Lyft Suggest the Days of Cheap Rides Could Be Over

#242

Post by AnthonyMouse »

ldoughty wrote: post #125
tmerr wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Knowing the max someone was willing to pay could help an actor set their prices optimally where there is no competition. Where there is competition, setting price to the max someone is willing to pay could drop overall profits since a competitor would happily undercut. So it does not change the rules of the game. Companies already price by predicting what people are willing to pay, by theory and experimentation. I wo…

Except corporations have already agreed to not seriously undercut each other... Geographic monopoly, understood collaborative price hikes... Forced plan changes post-capture that eliminate the most common plan and squeeze out an extra $5 per customer.... Simply having another player in the field is not competition, despite the federal government's claims.

That effectively requires a cartel with high barriers to entry, otherwise not doing that is an immediate competitive advantage to any new challengers. It's pretty hard to build your own last mile telecommunications network, how hard is it to build a ride sharing app?

Re: Uber and Lyft Suggest the Days of Cheap Rides Could Be Over

#243

Post by ghaff »

seriesf wrote: post #127
alkonaut wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The special vehicles thing is very rare. London is the only place I have ever seen it (though admittedly I have yet not been everywhere). Everywhere else, taxis are just regular cars with a meter and a taxi sticker on them.

The Crown Victoria was essentially purpose built for taxi duty, even though it was also marketed to the public.

And law enforcement variants.

They've adjusted but limo companies also used to gravitate towards the various body of frame models including other variants on the Crown Victoria. Apparently they were very attractive for high-mileage uses because of maintenance/rebuilds.

Re: Uber and Lyft Suggest the Days of Cheap Rides Could Be Over

#244

Post by leetcrew »

sokoloff wrote: post #241
ghaff wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, if I'm buying a new car I'll pay less for last year's model all other things being equal. (And the dealership will sure want to provide an incentive for me to buy last year's model.) But if I already own a car, how long I will continue to be able to drive it is far more determined by the mileage than by how old it is within reason. This is admittedly from the perspective of someone who basically drives cars unt…

I think almost anyone would prefer a 5 year old car with 100K miles on it than a 10 year old car with 25K (or 10K) miles on it.

I now realize ghaff is making a different point. since they intend to drive the car until it it is not economical to maintain, the resale value doesn't really matter. this is an unusually pragmatic approach to car ownership though.

Re: Uber and Lyft Suggest the Days of Cheap Rides Could Be Over

#245

Post by AnthonyMouse »

cortesoft wrote: post #134
suyash wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Best way to make Rich people move out of Finland, result in loosing tax base, jobs (businesses) etc

Rich people are going to leave Finland because they aren't allowed to drive recklessly with no real consequence? Well, then maybe they should leave.

If they drive the same way as everyone else (i.e. mostly following the spirit of the law but nobody's perfect) and then get hit with a colossal fine over a minor violation, yeah, that's the sort of thing that causes people to do the math on living somewhere else.

Re: Uber and Lyft Suggest the Days of Cheap Rides Could Be Over

#247

Post by trimbo »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #222
bsder wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then I don't do business with them. Seriously, auto dealers STILL try to do this and it pissed me off to no end the last time I had to buy a car. Except one company. I sent in what I wanted on email. They sent back the quotes on 3 cars in stock. The quotes were all reasonable and slightly below the average. I went in and bought the car. Since then, seven other people in my social circle bought from the same auto deal…

Auto dealers are selling a product that can easily be found exactly the same and compared elsewhere. For custom work such as construction, you’re not going to be able to do that.

Exactly.

Also, hourly quotes for even the most basic things around the house are a poor idea. Someone recently told me she had to move to fixed bids for everything with her handyman because he would just move really slow when it was hourly.

Re: Uber and Lyft Suggest the Days of Cheap Rides Could Be Over

#248

Post by zonidjan »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #242
ldoughty wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except corporations have already agreed to not seriously undercut each other... Geographic monopoly, understood collaborative price hikes... Forced plan changes post-capture that eliminate the most common plan and squeeze out an extra $5 per customer.... Simply having another player in the field is not competition, despite the federal government's claims.

That effectively requires a cartel with high barriers to entry, otherwise not doing that is an immediate competitive advantage to any new challengers. It's pretty hard to build your own last mile telecommunications network, how hard is it to build a ride sharing app?

It's not hard to build a ride sharing app.

It is, however, hard to get drivers and customers FOR your ride sharing app.

Re: Uber and Lyft Suggest the Days of Cheap Rides Could Be Over

#249

Post by ghaff »

leetcrew wrote: post #244
sokoloff wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think almost anyone would prefer a 5 year old car with 100K miles on it than a 10 year old car with 25K (or 10K) miles on it.

I now realize ghaff is making a different point. since they intend to drive the car until it it is not economical to maintain, the resale value doesn't really matter. this is an unusually pragmatic approach to car ownership though.

Yes, that was my point. I have never sold a car that had material resale value. (And, in fact, just donated one--which was about 20 years old.)

I do think that new computer tech-type features may be shifting the equation to make older vehicles less attractive more quickly. Although I'd argue those are probably more important for the driver than the passenger--modulo some safety features.

Re: Uber and Lyft Suggest the Days of Cheap Rides Could Be Over

#250

Post by tessting »

paxys wrote: post #85

Honestly, it's probably for the best. Over the last decade it has become the expectation that - at the tap of a button - a taxi will appear and take you across the city (or three blocks over) for a few bucks. People need to realize that this isn't reality. The entire industry has been subsidized by VCs and desperate drivers working below minimum wage since day 1. If, after paying drivers fairly, complying with local…

I don't understand why it's a moral imperative that people not take advantage of the VC funding subsidy? The VCs are wealthy interests looking to find a 10-20-100x exit at the end of this. I don't care if the Saudi Royal family places an enormous bet on automation over the next 10 years. Why is it for the best that all the people who use Uber not have that? I just don't understanding cheering that one of the few subsidies that is tricking down is being phased out, and I disagree with the suggestion that any of this is driving toward the end of paying drivers more.
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