Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think Sidecar lets each driver set their own rate. It would take a whole lot more than 1% of the fare to keep the system running though.
Why would you say that?
Credit card processing itself cost 2.7%, on average.
Uber Drivers “Strike” and Switch to Lyft Over Fares and Conditions
71–80 of 196 posts
Re: Uber Drivers “Strike” and Switch to Lyft Over Fares and Conditions
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure a middleman service is even really necessary. There's plenty of drivers right now driving for multiple services. The more services there are, the more competition there is for drivers' time, which means drivers have more leverage. One could read Uber's insistence on canning drivers who turn down too many rides as an attempt to reduce this leverage, since the only way drivers can exercise it is to turn do…
> There's plenty of drivers right now driving for multiple services. The more services there are, the more competition there is for drivers' time, which means drivers have more leverage. We're gonna need an Uber for Ubers. But of course a middleman is necessary - who's going to match customers and available drivers? But if drivers have the leverage, it could resemble more of an agent relationship. Why haven't Uber/Ly…
The services match customers and drivers; they just don't do so authoritatively. Instead, you have a sort of pseudo-auction going on for chunks of drivers' time. Each match from a service is essentially a bid. If there's only one bid, the driver takes it; if there's multiple bids, she chooses the one that best fits her circumstances and turns down the others.
> Why haven't Uber/Lyft demanded exclusivity with drivers?
That was my point above, it sounds like that is what Uber, at least, is trying to do. They want their drivers to be Uber drivers first and foremost, so they punish drivers who turn down too many Uber-proposed rides.
Of course, if that's the relationship they want to have with their drivers, it sort of calls into question how "independent" those independent-contractor drivers really are. If Uber wants drivers to only drive for Uber, they could always just hire them as full-time employees. That would cost them money, though, so instead they prefer to keep their drivers as contractors and just force them to behave like employees instead.
Re: Uber Drivers “Strike” and Switch to Lyft Over Fares and Conditions
#73The really interesting story here is that if drivers are so willing to switch networks for better opportunities, there isn't a compelling reason for Uber to have the valuation that they do. The value of Uber isn't really in the tech or the app - it's in the networks of riders and drivers in each city. If each of those can be aggregated into some other kind of service, where Uber, Lyft, etc. are just providers of paym…
This. Basically while there are network effects in the sense that any provider (Uber, Lyft etc.) will need to have some critical mass before there are enough drivers and enough riders, both can subscribe to multiple providers and there is no long-term stickiness at the moment. In other words, this is not a winner take all market with FB/LinkedIn/Twitter type network stickiness and the overall market is still fair gam…
You know what would be interesting is that municipalities should see this as an opportunity. What if the city were to start their own modern municipal taxi services, and compete directly with Lyft/Uber....
Then they get revenues.
Re: Uber Drivers “Strike” and Switch to Lyft Over Fares and Conditions
#74The really interesting story here is that if drivers are so willing to switch networks for better opportunities, there isn't a compelling reason for Uber to have the valuation that they do. The value of Uber isn't really in the tech or the app - it's in the networks of riders and drivers in each city. If each of those can be aggregated into some other kind of service, where Uber, Lyft, etc. are just providers of paym…
This. Basically while there are network effects in the sense that any provider (Uber, Lyft etc.) will need to have some critical mass before there are enough drivers and enough riders, both can subscribe to multiple providers and there is no long-term stickiness at the moment. In other words, this is not a winner take all market with FB/LinkedIn/Twitter type network stickiness and the overall market is still fair gam…
You know what would be interesting is that municipalities should see this as an opportunity. What if the city were to start their own modern municipal taxi services, and compete directly with Lyft/Uber....
Then they get revenues.
Re: Uber Drivers “Strike” and Switch to Lyft Over Fares and Conditions
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
I work for Flywheel, a (much smaller) competitor in the same space. Customers like you describe certainly exist, and may be the majority, but mercenary customers who switch services are a large subset of the total. For example, we don't surge, and a substantial number of our customers report that they only use us when Uber and Lyft are surging. There's also a time-frame issue here. The number of users who check diffe…
Off-topic, but Do you have a timeline for getting into the Boston market, or a suggestion of an app out here? Taxi dispatch is terrible in this city. I was a consistent flywheel customer in SF and loved it.
Sorry, I can't comment on our expansion plans. I don't have any personal experience with the Boston scene, and the value of different apps is often very location dependent, so I'm not sure how the experience will be, but:
Hailo operates in Boston. They use real taxis and are well-established in other cities, probably worth a try if you are looking to replace taxi dispatch.
Thanks for the kind words, and I hope we get to Boston soon and you can give us a try.
Re: Uber Drivers “Strike” and Switch to Lyft Over Fares and Conditions
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
This. Basically while there are network effects in the sense that any provider (Uber, Lyft etc.) will need to have some critical mass before there are enough drivers and enough riders, both can subscribe to multiple providers and there is no long-term stickiness at the moment. In other words, this is not a winner take all market with FB/LinkedIn/Twitter type network stickiness and the overall market is still fair gam…
How would you say self-driving vehicles fit into this? Supposedly they're rolling out in ~3-5 years, and with self-driving vehicles, you no longer need the middle man managing a fleet of contractors. EDIT: I'm willing to me a Long Bet [1] with anyone regarding fully autonomous self driving vehicles in regular use in 6 years. [1] http://longbets.org/ ; http://longbets.org/rules/
Self-driving cars in a city environment are like flying cars. Sounds kinda plausible, but the tech is always going to be 20 years away.
Re: Uber Drivers “Strike” and Switch to Lyft Over Fares and Conditions
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
How would you say self-driving vehicles fit into this? Supposedly they're rolling out in ~3-5 years, and with self-driving vehicles, you no longer need the middle man managing a fleet of contractors. EDIT: I'm willing to me a Long Bet [1] with anyone regarding fully autonomous self driving vehicles in regular use in 6 years. [1] http://longbets.org/ ; http://longbets.org/rules/
Autonomous vehicles that can navigate city roads and do not require any driver behind the wheel are most certainly not 3-5 years away.
Tesla is indicating they're prepared to offer full auto-pilot (Level 4) self-driving cars in 3-6 years.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1094329_self-driving-car...
Re: Uber Drivers “Strike” and Switch to Lyft Over Fares and Conditions
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
How would you say self-driving vehicles fit into this? Supposedly they're rolling out in ~3-5 years, and with self-driving vehicles, you no longer need the middle man managing a fleet of contractors. EDIT: I'm willing to me a Long Bet [1] with anyone regarding fully autonomous self driving vehicles in regular use in 6 years. [1] http://longbets.org/ ; http://longbets.org/rules/
~3-5 years is way too soon. The technology might be ready but the governments (think regulations, traffic laws, car insurance companies, car manufacturers, etc etc etc ) in addition to the public (which is not ready either). Is going to take at least 10+ years for it to resemble something like you imagine it.
The technology is not nearly ready. Not in a city. It's like flying drone delivery. Easy to demonstrate in a single controlled setting, but nearly impossible to actually implement in the real world.
Re: Uber Drivers “Strike” and Switch to Lyft Over Fares and Conditions
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
How would you say self-driving vehicles fit into this? Supposedly they're rolling out in ~3-5 years, and with self-driving vehicles, you no longer need the middle man managing a fleet of contractors. EDIT: I'm willing to me a Long Bet [1] with anyone regarding fully autonomous self driving vehicles in regular use in 6 years. [1] http://longbets.org/ ; http://longbets.org/rules/
Self-driving cars in a city environment are like flying cars. Sounds kinda plausible, but the tech is always going to be 20 years away.
Google is closing in on over a million miles with no accidents, and have decided to focus on refining their intelligence for city driving. 6 years tops.
Re: Uber Drivers “Strike” and Switch to Lyft Over Fares and Conditions
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
This. Basically while there are network effects in the sense that any provider (Uber, Lyft etc.) will need to have some critical mass before there are enough drivers and enough riders, both can subscribe to multiple providers and there is no long-term stickiness at the moment. In other words, this is not a winner take all market with FB/LinkedIn/Twitter type network stickiness and the overall market is still fair gam…
How would you say self-driving vehicles fit into this? Supposedly they're rolling out in ~3-5 years, and with self-driving vehicles, you no longer need the middle man managing a fleet of contractors. EDIT: I'm willing to me a Long Bet [1] with anyone regarding fully autonomous self driving vehicles in regular use in 6 years. [1] http://longbets.org/ ; http://longbets.org/rules/
It's clearly Uber's plan to replace all their drivers with self-driving cars in the future - I think they've even said so themselves. But even six years is a long time for a VC-funded business.
And what does "regular use" mean? That seems like the critical component of a bet like this.