SF startups disrupting working class demonstrations, that will go down well, you are fired pete.
Uber – London Tube Strikes or How to take advantage of a protest
11–20 of 52 posts
Re: Uber – London Tube Strikes or How to take advantage of a protest
#1250% off the ride if you share the ride with another person, who pays the other 50%?....
Re: Uber – London Tube Strikes or How to take advantage of a protest
#13I can see it now: Londoners huddled outside of the barred-up tube entrances in the rain, moaning privately to themselves about the lack of transportation, until one clever sod whips out his smartphone and announces, "Uber will give us 50% off if we split!" Dozens of commuters will scramble to share a cab with him as they excitedly scroll through the options for different drivers. "This one's only got four stars!" say…
Even at normal times I've found it much quicker to walk than take a taxi. I've beaten colleagues to venues on multiple occasions.
I wish these cab apps would use their power to try to improve the air quality in London. Offering incentives to low emission vehicles or those with scrubbers. Or just giving users the choice.
BTW I made a really simple tube strike info site: http://www.isthetubeonstrike.com/
Re: Uber – London Tube Strikes or How to take advantage of a protest
#14But... Uber insists that it needs surge pricing, otherwise drivers won't bother to give lifts. So a 50% off promotion must mean there won't be any drivers turning up to work, right?
Re: Uber – London Tube Strikes or How to take advantage of a protest
#15The title needs fixed - it should be "#KEEPLONDONMOVING! 50% OFF ALL RIDES DURING THE TUBE STRIKE WHEN YOU FARE SPLIT"
(unless of course we are now allowing editorialising in HN post titles)
Re: Uber – London Tube Strikes or How to take advantage of a protest
#16I don't really understand why people would use Uber in London when services like Hailo exist. A black cab is going to get you around London much faster than a car that can't use bus lanes, there are many more cabs available than Uber cars, and I would guess (without knowing) that a cab is going to be cheaper. So, apart from Uber maybe having some nicer cars available, what's the deal?
uberX without surge pricing is cheaper than a black cab.
Re: Uber – London Tube Strikes or How to take advantage of a protest
#17TfL has indicated that due to additional traffic, car journeys may take twice as long as usual (which is long enough) during the strike. I hope you like the people you're sharing with because if you do this during rush hour you will be spending a lot of time sitting next to them.
That's a pretty optimistic estimate. I cycle to work every day up the A24/A3 corridor and on the first day of the last strike it was the most ridiculous gridlock I've ever seen. I passed an ambulance that was locked in and no way to move even with vehicles trying to drive up on the pavement to let it through. The second day was better as people realized driving was not a solution, but my advice is to either cycle or stay home.
Re: Uber – London Tube Strikes or How to take advantage of a protest
#18But... Uber insists that it needs surge pricing, otherwise drivers won't bother to give lifts. So a 50% off promotion must mean there won't be any drivers turning up to work, right?
Presumably Uber is paying the drivers the difference.
Re: Uber – London Tube Strikes or How to take advantage of a protest
#19Uber, playing the valuable role of transit scabs.
Re: Uber – London Tube Strikes or How to take advantage of a protest
#20This does not seem like a well-planned marketing campaign. Uber and its competitors would've done well enough on pure demand alone without having to say anything. But now they've decided to (inadvertently or not) jump into labor politics, which will almost certainly be interpreted as an effort to sap the strike of its power...and this effort will be associated particularly with the affluent who are wealthy enough to use Uber. I'm not saying the labor strike is right or wrong, I'm just saying that there is no way to stay out of the politics with this kind of marketing campaign, no matter its actual intentions. So I hope the contingency for blowback was planned out, and that this was not just the marketing department's way of riffing off of current events.