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Uber shuts operations in Nigeria and Uganda with immediate effect

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Re: Uber shuts operations in Nigeria and Uganda with immediate effect

#31

Post by mvdtnz »

tristanj wrote: post #30
blovescoffee wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One anecdote for a datapoint: Not sure if it's better now but I've lost a phone in an InDrive and I've lost an expensive bag in an Uber and it was significantly easier and less sketchy to get the bag back. I'm not a price sensitive rider so the insurance of a reputable 'comfort' tier Uber driver paid off. The InDrive driver made me get another ride to him then demanded $1000mxn (~$55usd) to return my phone. The Uber…

I have a controversial take: outside the US/Europe, Uber is mostly a tourist app. If you actually live in developing regions: 1) your income is much lower, and you are quite price sensitive. The Uber price premium (20-40%) hits much harder. 2) the Uber alternatives are noticeably cheaper for the exact same trip. Regarding your experience, if you were local, that inDrive driver likely would not have tried to extort $1…

Your take isn't controversial, it's just wrong. And you seem to be implying everywhere outside of USA and Europe is a developing region?

Re: Uber shuts operations in Nigeria and Uganda with immediate effect

#33

Post by minraws »

bossyTeacher wrote: post #20
embedding-shape wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given Uber is one of the few companies who are lucky enough to have a separate page for all the controversies on Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_surrounding_Uber ), they also have their own fair of experience with police raids on their offices. They've also used "‘kill switch’ during raids to stop police seeing data" ( https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/jul/10/uber-files-leak... ) before, s…

> They've also used "‘kill switch’ during raids to stop police seeing data If Uber wasn't a VC backed company, they would have been charged with destruction of evidence or similar.

They likely were but Companies don't go to jail they pay fines

Re: Uber shuts operations in Nigeria and Uganda with immediate effect

#34

Post by SoftTalker »

chermi wrote: post #21
tristanj wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In developing countries, the taxi market is largely unregulated and Uber faces actual competition. Uber cannot compete on price in these regions.

Does no one have any memory of what taxis were like and how much they cost? The taxis are gone because they weren't competitive.

And taxis weren't competitive because they were heavily regulated in most markets by a medallion system that artificially kept the supply low.

Re: Uber shuts operations in Nigeria and Uganda with immediate effect

#35

Post by tclancy »

jojobas wrote: post #28
bdangubic wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

taxis “weren’t competitive” when Uber rides were heavily subsidized and Uber was burning billions. I ride taxi now exclusively because it is almost always cheaper than Uber

A taxi to the airport in Melbourne was >AUD100 from where I am more than 10 years ago. An Uber is ~AUD70 still, past all the subsidies.

Yes but what’s a taxi to the airport cost now? Otherwise the comparison doesn’t mean much.

Re: Uber shuts operations in Nigeria and Uganda with immediate effect

#36

Post by itsamario »

tristanj wrote: post #7

Makes sense, Uber's 30-50% cut is far too much. How can they compete with inDrive which only takes 10%. And on inDrive you set your own fare. Rides are 20-40% cheaper elsewhere, why would anyone pay extra for Uber?

Insurance goes up. Who knows how much liability they need to cover transportation. They likely deal with claims of being kidnapped or held hostage by driver on a regular basis.

Re: Uber shuts operations in Nigeria and Uganda with immediate effect

#37

Post by croes »

blovescoffee wrote: post #12
tristanj wrote: post #7

Makes sense, Uber's 30-50% cut is far too much. How can they compete with inDrive which only takes 10%. And on inDrive you set your own fare. Rides are 20-40% cheaper elsewhere, why would anyone pay extra for Uber?

One anecdote for a datapoint: Not sure if it's better now but I've lost a phone in an InDrive and I've lost an expensive bag in an Uber and it was significantly easier and less sketchy to get the bag back. I'm not a price sensitive rider so the insurance of a reputable 'comfort' tier Uber driver paid off. The InDrive driver made me get another ride to him then demanded $1000mxn (~$55usd) to return my phone. The Uber…

Could simply be because it’s a phone which nowadays is a considered bigger loss than a bag means bigger chance of extorting money to give it back.

Re: Uber shuts operations in Nigeria and Uganda with immediate effect

#38

Post by Razengan »

tristanj wrote: post #7

Makes sense, Uber's 30-50% cut is far too much. How can they compete with inDrive which only takes 10%. And on inDrive you set your own fare. Rides are 20-40% cheaper elsewhere, why would anyone pay extra for Uber?

Man in some of the shitty countries I've had the misfortune of living in, taxi drivers were outright predatory and sometimes downright hostile. Uber was a godsend in such environments.

Re: Uber shuts operations in Nigeria and Uganda with immediate effect

#39

Post by tristanj »

mvdtnz wrote: post #31
tristanj wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a controversial take: outside the US/Europe, Uber is mostly a tourist app. If you actually live in developing regions: 1) your income is much lower, and you are quite price sensitive. The Uber price premium (20-40%) hits much harder. 2) the Uber alternatives are noticeably cheaper for the exact same trip. Regarding your experience, if you were local, that inDrive driver likely would not have tried to extort $1…

Your take isn't controversial, it's just wrong. And you seem to be implying everywhere outside of USA and Europe is a developing region?

You claim it's wrong, yet don't bother to justify your position at all.

I've ridden on Uber, Lyft, Bolt, Grab, inDrive, Careem, Yandex Go, Gojek, DiDi, Kakao T; and in my experience, outside the US/Europe (plus a few others), Uber is mostly for tourists. The alternatives are cheaper.

> implying everywhere outside of USA and Europe is a developing region

I'm not doing so at all. Those are separate sentences.

Re: Uber shuts operations in Nigeria and Uganda with immediate effect

#40

Post by quirino »

tristanj wrote: post #30
blovescoffee wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One anecdote for a datapoint: Not sure if it's better now but I've lost a phone in an InDrive and I've lost an expensive bag in an Uber and it was significantly easier and less sketchy to get the bag back. I'm not a price sensitive rider so the insurance of a reputable 'comfort' tier Uber driver paid off. The InDrive driver made me get another ride to him then demanded $1000mxn (~$55usd) to return my phone. The Uber…

I have a controversial take: outside the US/Europe, Uber is mostly a tourist app. If you actually live in developing regions: 1) your income is much lower, and you are quite price sensitive. The Uber price premium (20-40%) hits much harder. 2) the Uber alternatives are noticeably cheaper for the exact same trip. Regarding your experience, if you were local, that inDrive driver likely would not have tried to extort $1…

My experience in Brazil: Uber is way cheaper here. Compared to what I paid in San Francisco, I'd estimate a ~10x difference. And things here are rarely 10x cheaper. The difference in restaurants is probably less than ~2x.

My point being it probably feels like less of a luxury for us than for people in the US.

I'd say it's probably the most popular app too. I've never met people who used others.

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