Yes, this is just standard bureaucracy and it's Skip's fault, as people are saying. But the bigger point is that the SF government apparently places more weight on minor application mistakes than actual, historical "bad" behavior. That's why this is so comical. It only feeds fuel to the truth that rules should be bent and there really is no point in "moving slow" for startups. You won't be rewarded for it. Most tech…
San Francisco has an unusual amount of bureaucratic infighting between departments that accompanies the usual baseline apathy and hostility of a large city towards others.
> if it still comes out cheaper it’s for a reason e.g. no security, no housekeeping, no amenities, no one to help you. Why is this a bad thing? It's just unbundling security and housekeeping and lowering the price correspondingly. If you want the full-service option hotels still exist
It’s like getting sick without health insurance. You don’t think about it until it happens. Most people underestimate the risk. And like I said in a lot of places an Airbnb is not actually cheaper than a hotel, so in that case you’re getting ripped off because you pay the same price as a hotel without any of the benefits a hotel provides.
Airbnb has compensating benefits though. You're living "like a local", in a space that might a lot more compelling to some than your average hotel room, and often in a non-touristy area where some goods and services can be quite a bit cheaper.
To add more context, Skip wouldn't have been chosen even if its application were formatted perfectly, you can see the scores here: https://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/files/reports-and-docume... And the completed rubrics of each of the applications here: https://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/files/reports-and-docume... With other related documents here: https://www.sfmta.com/reports/2019-scooter-application-evalu... Wh…
Looking at the application, Skip appears to have been screwed over on other categories too. They got a low score on "sustainability" even though they rebuild/repair broken scooters instead of throwing in the trash (like many of the other applicants). And they have actual employees instead of contractors, yet they scored low on the employment metric.
The broader issue is why even have an artificial limit for scooters? Imagine if SFMTA limited roads to just 2 car manufacturers and a set number of vehicles...
> Yes, this is just standard bureaucracy and it's Skip's fault, as people are saying. This does not match with my experience. Bureaucracies, like human being, vary greatly. I was able to incorporate in Colombia at the department of commerce four years ago barely speaking Spanish, in just a couple hours as the bureaucrats there were very helpful. I've also tanked tens of thousands of dollars on lawyers and spent over…
>This does not match with my experience. How old are you and how long have you been working?
That's unduly personal. Please don't do that here.
It’s like getting sick without health insurance. You don’t think about it until it happens. Most people underestimate the risk. And like I said in a lot of places an Airbnb is not actually cheaper than a hotel, so in that case you’re getting ripped off because you pay the same price as a hotel without any of the benefits a hotel provides.
Airbnb has compensating benefits though. You're living "like a local", in a space that might a lot more compelling to some than your average hotel room, and often in a non-touristy area where some goods and services can be quite a bit cheaper.
Lol it’s a marketing ploy.
I can’t be happy “living like a local” when I’m wondering in the back of my mind if the apartment I’m staying at was illegally turned into a hotel (most likely yes) and getting dirty stares from the neighbors that actually live there.
Yes, this is just standard bureaucracy and it's Skip's fault, as people are saying. But the bigger point is that the SF government apparently places more weight on minor application mistakes than actual, historical "bad" behavior. That's why this is so comical. It only feeds fuel to the truth that rules should be bent and there really is no point in "moving slow" for startups. You won't be rewarded for it. Most tech…
> But the bigger point is that the SF government apparently places more weight on minor application mistakes than actual, historical "bad" behavior. This has been my experience with pretty much any bureaucracy, regardless of locale. E.g. when I incorporated my company, I had to send in the same application four times, each time paying an additional fee. Reason was I had minor, pointless really, mistakes in the applic…
I made a mistake on my federal tax return some years ago and to my great surprise the IRS turned out to be super-easy to deal with. They told me the amount at issue in the notification letter, a human answered the answered the phone and was able to explain the mistake in a couple of minutes, and they gave me a comfortable window to pay them back. As it only involved a few hundred dollars and it was very much my mistake (a careless math error as opposed to being about interpretation of the rules) it's easy to feel positive about it, but I'd rather talk to the IRS for 15 minutes a week than ever call Comcast again about anything.
FWIW I hardly ever see people riding scooters in San Francisco anymore. They all more than doubled their prices in the last year to $1 + .32/min + tax, which works out to more than $20/hour! At that price, it’s cheaper to just use Uber.
I use them frequently and see people on them all the time, especially during commute hours.
What Ubers have you taken in the city that work out to less than $20/hour? Even for Uber Pool that's significantly less expensive than what I've experienced.
FWIW I hardly ever see people riding scooters in San Francisco anymore. They all more than doubled their prices in the last year to $1 + .32/min + tax, which works out to more than $20/hour! At that price, it’s cheaper to just use Uber.
I use them frequently and see people on them all the time, especially during commute hours. What Ubers have you taken in the city that work out to less than $20/hour? Even for Uber Pool that's significantly less expensive than what I've experienced.
The distance you can cover in a car is obviously much greater than that with a scooter in the same amount of time.
And it kills the use case of keeping the same scooter rented for a few hours while you hop around and do errands or go around the city since it’s too expensive now.
In lots of arenas of life --- this one included --- if you naively follow the advice that nice and well-meaning people give you, you're going to get hosed.
To add more context, Skip wouldn't have been chosen even if its application were formatted perfectly, you can see the scores here: https://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/files/reports-and-docume... And the completed rubrics of each of the applications here: https://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/files/reports-and-docume... With other related documents here: https://www.sfmta.com/reports/2019-scooter-application-evalu... Wh…
Looking at the application, Skip appears to have been screwed over on other categories too. They got a low score on "sustainability" even though they rebuild/repair broken scooters instead of throwing in the trash (like many of the other applicants). And they have actual employees instead of contractors, yet they scored low on the employment metric. The broader issue is why even have an artificial limit for scooters?…
You need to limit scooter players because otherwise it because a game of funding and attrition, multiple companies dumping city full fo scooters in a competition for availability. All other qualities will be overlooked.