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My prediction number 5 :) 5. New functionality - e.g. If you're going somewhere while using Google Maps for navigation and turn on "Carpool" mode, people can see your path and message you for a pick up. They pay you for partial journey via the app. http://www.quora.com/How-will-Google-monetize-Google-Maps
This sounds more like Lyft's "Line" service which connects driver and passengers going the same way on regular trips. I'm not familiar with Uber's offerings though so maybe they have a similar service?
Like all marketplaces, you are faced with the chicken and egg problem. The market place is supply constrained. There is demand for rides but not enough matching supply. People with cars much prefer to travel alone due the inconvenience of picking up others.
So, in order to get the drivers you need to give them a VERY convenient option. Someone that is along their route, that would not add more than 5-10 mins of extra commute time, this is also dependent on how long the total commute is. You also need to reach these drivers, without them searching for a solution. Which is insanely expensive since the cheap acquisition strategies do not work.
The best way to solve this IMHO is seeding the market with drivers (supply side). Once you have the scale to guarantee a ride in a specific area you open up ride-sharing.
* Uber is doing this by incentivizing drivers who want to make a profit.
* Google is uniquely positioned to do this as well, since they have the treasure trove of Wayze data
Dumb question: how is this Google's core business?
If sharing a ride with someone frees up my attention to use my smartphone instead of watching the road, google can make more money advertising to me during that time.
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I wouldn't have called Uber a "taxi rival" when they were an app for hiring a town car either. Things change. This is Google's first toe-in-the-water for apps to request a ride, but it obviously won't be their last. Considering how much they've invested in autonomous vehicles only a crazy person would believe they're going to leave the entire market for self-driving taxis wide open for Uber etc. Google will have a ta…
But why doesn't Apple doesn't try to create an UBER ?
Apple is not an advertising company, they are a consumer electronics company. You won't be buying more iPhones by driving less, so they don't benefit from self-driving cars or car pooling quite as much.
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But why doesn't Apple doesn't try to create an UBER ?
Why does Google want it? It's simple. Google is an advertising company. The more free time you have where you have nothing but your phone or computer, the more time you'll spend searching for things, and therefore clicking on their ads. An average person with a 30+ minute commute would sure as hell do a lot of shopping if they didn't have to drive. While we are all waiting on self-driving cars, this is another step i…
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Most people don't want anything they like to be diluted or changed. People on HN don't want people from Reddit. People from Reddit don't want people from Facebook. People from Facebook don't want their parents. People in a gated community don't want poor people moving into their neighborhood. People in the city don't want rich folks moving in and gentrifying their block. People, in general, are xenophobic and like th…
"People, in general, are xenophobic and like their culture to stay small and untainted." The problem is that when anybody and everyone comes into the community and you don't have some sort of filter, it turns to shit.
> Drivers will only be able to make two trips per day, and the software will ensure they only travel from their home neighborhoods to their workplaces. > There also won’t be a ton of money changing hands as a passenger will pay the driver only a nominal fare for the trip I'd hardly call it a Uber rival
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Unlike Microsoft, who had the will and executive ability to expand to new territories and destroy competitors, Google has a remarkable record of half-baked works and giving up. it's a joke.
There is a very serious benefit to recognizing a losing hand and folding before you're in too deep. You see a weakness in Google's execution, and I'd agree in some places, but there is some wisdom in closing up failed experiments rather than doubling down as Microsoft has done with several of their investments in the past.