Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

libretaxi.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

181–190 of 400 posts

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#181

Post by mjpuser »

jasode wrote: post #54

>, pay cash upon arrival. Paying cash is a non-starter. I haven't been to a bank ATM in over 10 years. I don't even know what my card's secret PIN is to make a cash withdrawal. Being virtually cashless by using credit-cards for everything is very common in professional circles. A credit-card is simpler and the exact line-item amount showing up on my monthly statement helps me keep track of travel expenses. (Also, man…

I see where you are coming from with the cash issue, but in NYC, it's not uncommon to have to pay cash at a store, so many people carry cash.

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#182

Post by jblz »

jasode wrote: post #54

>, pay cash upon arrival. Paying cash is a non-starter. I haven't been to a bank ATM in over 10 years. I don't even know what my card's secret PIN is to make a cash withdrawal. Being virtually cashless by using credit-cards for everything is very common in professional circles. A credit-card is simpler and the exact line-item amount showing up on my monthly statement helps me keep track of travel expenses. (Also, man…

+1 To add to this, part of the draw of Uber for me is its ubiquity (& Lyft, but it's less widespread). My consumer experience is maintained in different international & US markets.

I don't have to worry about securing local currency before I can get around -- it just uses my card (which doesn't charge a fee to convert).

I don't have to worry about not being able to explain where I'm trying to go across language barriers or various levels of familiarity with a locale -- the built-in map app works the same way in Paris, London, Prague as it does in San Francisco or Durham. The GPS features keep drivers honest as to routes and adds a (small) sense of security as you know your journey is being tracked in case something goes sideways.

All that said, LibreTaxi looks really promising & I really like the premise behind it. Maybe, some day, I'll not want the tracking features, for example. I hope it takes off!

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#183

Post by chrisallick »

galdosdi wrote: post #175
reubensutton wrote: post #6

My concern with this is the problem of ensuring the safety of the person driving the cab and the real identity of the rider. Lots of drivers will be reluctant because they can be stiffed on the bill. Lots of passengers will be reluctant to use it due to the inherent risk of riding with what is essentially a stranger.

Shouldn't be an obstacle. This is already exactly how normal, hailable, regulated taxis work (at least in much of the USA, and certainly in NYC -- I can't speak for elsewhere). That's why taxi driver is (at least in the US) a statistically more dangerous occupation than police officer. From the point of view of a driver, this scheme is less dangerous than the status quo, at least there is potentially a little more pa…

Getting in a taxi with a $250K medallion and the city of New York behind it is much different than getting in someone's car...

Without someone vetting these drivers and taking a risk and responsibility for people's safety, this seems like a terribly dangerous way for anyone to get around.

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#184

Post by adekok »

superquest wrote: post #39
colinbartlett wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Certainly a valid concern but I will say that the willingness of both rider and driver to share a ride with a stranger varies from country to country. I spent quite a lot of time in Russia before Uber took hold there and taking random rides from strangers, negotiating a price up front, was extremely common. Even as a tourist, I did it hundreds of times and it was generally accepted as safe by the populous. Sure, inci…

This works less well for women ...

It's hard to find stats for the US, but here's one from Canada:

http://www.victimsweek.gc.ca/res/r512.html

Men are overwhelmingly the majority of victims of stranger violence and robberies.

But... evolution dictates that we care more for women than for men.

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#186

Post by madpierrot »

reubensutton wrote: post #6

My concern with this is the problem of ensuring the safety of the person driving the cab and the real identity of the rider. Lots of drivers will be reluctant because they can be stiffed on the bill. Lots of passengers will be reluctant to use it due to the inherent risk of riding with what is essentially a stranger.

One way to manage this issue is by requiring ID verification for drivers ,another solution would be to implement a decentralized ledge (blockchain-like) ledger for who rides with whom .

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#187

Post by galdosdi »

chrisallick wrote: post #183
galdosdi wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shouldn't be an obstacle. This is already exactly how normal, hailable, regulated taxis work (at least in much of the USA, and certainly in NYC -- I can't speak for elsewhere). That's why taxi driver is (at least in the US) a statistically more dangerous occupation than police officer. From the point of view of a driver, this scheme is less dangerous than the status quo, at least there is potentially a little more pa…

Getting in a taxi with a $250K medallion and the city of New York behind it is much different than getting in someone's car... Without someone vetting these drivers and taking a risk and responsibility for people's safety, this seems like a terribly dangerous way for anyone to get around.

Medallion has nothing to do with it, any TLC licensed driver can rent a medallion cab. To get a TLC license you pass a BS exam that anyone can pass and a background check, and get an ID.

I don't see why LibreTaxi, in areas that have a individual driver licensing scheme, couldn't require that. You just look at the driver's license when you get in, or they post it on the back seat. The license information is recorded in LibreTaxi so everyone knows there's a paper trail if anything happens.

This would be identical in safety for everyone to medallion hailable cabs, or am I missing something?

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#188

Post by fauigerzigerk »

pimterry wrote: post #83
mschuster91 wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Paying cash is a non-starter. That certainly depends on the country. Good luck living cashless in Europe, especially in Germany where virtually no small store, food vendor etc. has a CC reader.

Really? That's pretty surprising - I live in Barcelona, and I use cards 99% of the time, and in the UK it was even easier. Even taxis here have card machines, and every small shop definitely does. The only holdouts are the occasional tiny old wine bar here and there, but even most of them have moved with the times.

Barcelona may be special within Spain because it's such a huge tourist destination. This statistic (from Mastercard) says that only 16% of payments are cashless in Spain: http://www.mastercardadvisors.com/_assets/pdf/MasterCardAdvi...

Singapore, Netherlands, France and Sweden are way ahead (~60%). I'm a bit surprised that the US is only 45% cashless.

Re: LibreTaxi – A free and open source alternative to Uber and Lyft

#190

Post by kartan »

joeyspn wrote: post #107
paglia_s wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure about other EU countries but here in Italy Blablacar and Uber are completely different. For example the price you're allowed to ask is calculated to ensure it's only a cost sharing without any income for the driver.

> without any income for the driver What? It doesn't make sense... Then why would any driver want to provide services via the app? Also, I'm not talking about the specifics of the payment or reward systems, I'm just pointing out that they're both considered to be "on the same level" and in the same "difficult to tax" tech service (carpooling, ride-sharing, etc)... just google "blablacar uber" and see the results...

Because BlaBlaCar is NOT a taxi service. They can't operate in Europe as a Taxi service, as it will be illegal to have a Taxi service without the proper permissions, paying proper taxes, etc. So they are doing REAL car sharing. Some one helps you to pay for the cost of the trip, and that's it. It's the old car pooling but more teachy.
Post reply on HN