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Announcing UberPool

blog.uber.com

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Re: Announcing UberPool

#151

Post by malandrew »

Based one what time you typically leave the house and where you go everyday, I'm certain there's also room to mature this market by suggesting carpooling groups to anyone who has tried to use the service at least once:

For all users who try UberPool at least once, find clusters where they all leave regularly at approximately the same time and head to the same destination.

Uber can even ask something like "Do you mind if we collect your commuting data for 1 week. If there is low variability, find clusters and suggest routes.

It think this could work bananas in places like SF-SouthBay, SouthBay-SF, and Washington DC where a sizeable chunk of people move back and forth in the same direction each day.

Re: Announcing UberPool

#152

Post by prawks »

minimaxir wrote: post #2

I'm a little surprised at the choice of "Pool" instead of more conventional terms in the sharing economy such as "UberShare" or "UberContribute." I was very disappointed that UberPool isn't a swimming-pool-as-a-service.

"Uber" is already a pretty non-descriptive brand name, I think they prefer catchy-ness to descriptive branding.

Re: Announcing UberPool

#153

Post by malandrew »

acabrahams wrote: post #113

I've been waiting for something like this to arrive for a while. In Israel and the West Bank, services called sheiruts act as mini-buses; they're taxis that pick up multiple passengers going in the same direction, usually for the same price as a public bus ticket. When buses are scarce, they are a really useful service. Could UberPool be like this?

In Brazil, mainly in Rio de Janeiro, we have the kombis (usually, but not necessarily VW Kombis) that are basically the same. São Paulo, used to have them, but they were taken off the road. Personally, I find them to be much more convenient than busses half the time, especially since the city really only responds to increases to demand around election time.

i.e. a route becomes increasingly crowded to the point you can't get on the bus anymore. The problem gets so bad over a few years that you have to let 3-4 busses pass. An election comes up and miraculously the increased demand is met. kombis help alleviate these shenanigans.

Re: Announcing UberPool

#154

Post by wnissen »

ohhoe wrote: post #127
jfoster wrote: post #121

"Our friends at Google will also be joining us in the beta. They share our vision of a more energy-efficient world with less traffic congestion and pollution in our cities and are excited to be early adopters of UberPool." I don't quite understand what that means. Are they saying that all Google employees have access to the beta, or is Google involved in some other way?

I'm assuming that google is having its employees participate in the beta so they can share rides to the HQ

And also make it harder to distinguish a Google Bus from any other car.

Re: Announcing UberPool

#155

Post by balls187 »

gorkemyurt wrote: post #5
wise_young_man wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a play on the word Carpool and seems apt to me. The Uber brand name is already synonymous with sharing as you share the car with the driver and whoever is with you and they need to distinguish this separately. I also thought it was something to do with bringing you to a swimming pool like UberCats. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpool

he was joking

I was actually hoping it was a summer promotion for Uber, mobile-pool-as-a-service.

http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111219033328/simpsons/i...

Re: Announcing UberPool

#156

Post by laurent123456 »

stbtrax wrote: post #89
soheil wrote: post #75

Almost in every single other country this has always been the way to ride a taxi. "This is also a bold social experiment." come on! They're making it sound like they discovered nuclear fusion.

How do people organize cab shares in other countries?

In some small towns in Argentina, taxis pretty much replace buses. You can hail a taxi in the street, and even if there are already people in, they'll ask you where you're going. If you are going the same direction as everyone else in the taxi, you can get in. It's actually very convenient and cheap.

Re: Announcing UberPool

#157

Post by superuser2 »

akgerber wrote: post #144
megablast wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Car sharing services in France are incredibly popular, everyone uses them. This is partly because the government has a monopoly and keeps the trains expensive, and stops buses from running. In the UK, buses are the way to go, you get very cheap buses if you book in advance.

Buses in the US are cheap, but our government monopoly rail service is even more expensive and even slower— NYC to DC is shorter than Paris to Lyon, but costs for a ticket a week out are higher for the low-speed Northeast Regional than the TGV, and our low-speed high-speed train, the Acela, costs more than twice as much as the TGV.

How do private corporations build rail infrastructure without government? Wouldn't you need to negotiate with tens of thousands of private property owners, such that one holdout would be enough to kill the project?

How is this possible without eminent domain?

Re: Announcing UberPool

#158

Post by garethsprice »

netcan wrote: post #109
bobbles wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know if the price was cheap enough I'd definitely be willing to put up with slightly longer pickup delays (considering that it'd probably still be faster than normal taxis around here)

I think you can look at it as (convenience + quality)/price. Different people evaluate & value those three differently. To get a customer that equation needs to yield a higher value than the next best thing. To win in a a market completely, you need to tick all three boxes. Better, cheaper, faster. Uber focused on high quality early on, the limo market. They beat limos for price and convenience (the competition sucke…

> A next step might be something close to public transport. Basically minibuses running something similar to shuttles between hotels and airports.

There's also a huge and mostly hidden network of "dollar vans" in cities with large immigrant populations, private operators serving areas not touched by public transport routes. Not saying that Uber will expand this far downmarket, but interesting to note that what you describe exists in some form already.

http://mashable.com/2014/04/10/dollar-vans-new-york/

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