81–90 of 93 posts
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Society doesn’t need to accept their profit motive
Then Uber wouldn't exist. It was an exorbitantly expensive and risky plan to disrupt an entrenched taxi industry all funded by investors.
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Greyhound nyc to dc is like $20 and has a dozen buses a day. Plus you have Amtrak. Why take an Uber?
I live in Japan but was thinking of taking a Greyhound for a 2-hour or so ride during a US trip but a friend strongly advised against, the presumably exaggerated analogy was getting herpes just riding it. Another friend more familiar than me with the recent US generally concurred. So I assume that's one reason to take an Uber? I was going to look into a charter anyways based on that advice. Amtrak I'm more familiar w…
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That part is understandable. What doesn’t make sense is the ratio. Driver pays for the car, gas and their time. And Uber pockets 50% of the fare? I’ve heard this from at least a few vocal drivers. Apple App Store’s 30% cut as a software service provider seems like a bargain.
Uber has never considered its drivers to be employees. I think it sees itself as a marketplace - selling driver time to riders. So it makes sense that the plan was always to take more of the pie for itself once it got enough power to do that. Like Amazon with Audible - if you're the only game in town then you can charge whatever you like, so they do.
Did I miss Lyft going out of business or something? Or is this more of a duopoly type situation?
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Because with those other services, you have to be around other people. Americans hate that.
Amtrak at night is quiet, generally pretty empty, and very civilized. Nothing at all like an intra city bus or subway. But I think many Americans would never even give it a chance. Maybe that's why it's so nice...
I think there is more than one reason that Americans "never give it a chance".
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No amount of the surge pricing should go to Uber. They're already earning more due to the increased number of rides. It's almost akin to taking the tips.
I don't understand why people think this. Uber isn't a charity. Of course they are going to try to take advantage of demand shortages. If drivers want to take in the profit from things like this, they should form a co-op, not be contractors.
> In these cases of very high demand, prices may increase to help ensure that those who need a ride can get one. This system is called surge pricing, and it lets the Uber app continue to be a reliable choice.
The fact that only a fraction of the fare increase goes to the driver is misleading at best.
https://www.uber.com/us/en/drive/driver-app/how-surge-works/
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I don't understand why people think this. Uber isn't a charity. Of course they are going to try to take advantage of demand shortages. If drivers want to take in the profit from things like this, they should form a co-op, not be contractors.
It says this on the Uber website: > In these cases of very high demand, prices may increase to help ensure that those who need a ride can get one. This system is called surge pricing, and it lets the Uber app continue to be a reliable choice. The fact that only a fraction of the fare increase goes to the driver is misleading at best. https://www.uber.com/us/en/drive/driver-app/how-surge-works/
It is only a misleading statement if you put words in uber's mouth beyond what they say. I don't see anything here suggesting they increase prices to increase supply instead of decreasing demand.
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> It’s jacking up prices and pocketing the difference. Obviously the way to make profit is to charge more than you spend. Literally the definition.
Hotter take: Pocketing the excess value of someone else's labor and capital is theft.
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Greyhound nyc to dc is like $20 and has a dozen buses a day. Plus you have Amtrak. Why take an Uber?
Because with those other services, you have to be around other people. Americans hate that.
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Because with those other services, you have to be around other people. Americans hate that.
Amtrak at night is quiet, generally pretty empty, and very civilized. Nothing at all like an intra city bus or subway. But I think many Americans would never even give it a chance. Maybe that's why it's so nice...
If you don't need to be at your destination for a particular time then Amtrak is nice a way to travel if the route works, especially if you get a cabin.
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Wouldn't that effectively be asking Lyft to jump on a grenade for the greater good? Drastically undercutting the competition means you leave money on the table. Let's just assume a 5% discount isn't enough to win riders but 15% is, should the cut fares but anything over 15% just to screw Uber? And does this risk setting a low enough market cap on Lyft that they could be compelled to take an acquisition offer simply b…
> Startups' job isn't to fix a broken market An aside...why are we still referring to Uber and Lyft as startups? They are 14 and 11 year old, extremely well established, multinational companies. They are no longer the little guys disrupting an entrenched market. When do they stop getting the excuse of being startups?