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Introducing Driver Destination

blog.lyft.com

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Re: Introducing Driver Destination

#21

Post by zdean »

awwstn wrote: post #16

This is really great – though I wonder if Lyft runs the risk of people making the connection once (i.e. finding a person with similar commute times/locations who is willing to pay for rides) and deciding to arrange a paid carpool that doesn't go through Lyft.

I think there are a lot of people that this would be a good idea for. I use my car to get to/from work, but I also like having it to use during the workday (lunch, errands, etc.). I'd be up for giving rides in the morning/afternoon but still having use of my car the rest of the time. Plus it sounds ad hoc, so I don't have to commit to someone beyond just the one time.

Re: Introducing Driver Destination

#22

Post by michaelvkpdx »

Trying to charge people for carpooling, something we've traditionally done for free. The "sharing economy" isn't about sharing- it's about monetizing free things and taking a cut.

This is not in any way improving humanity. It's a step backwards.

Re: Introducing Driver Destination

#23

Post by grimtrigger »

michaelvkpdx wrote: post #22

Trying to charge people for carpooling, something we've traditionally done for free. The "sharing economy" isn't about sharing- it's about monetizing free things and taking a cut. This is not in any way improving humanity. It's a step backwards.

> we've traditionally done for free

I don't have stats, but my guess is that most people don't carpool. So traditionally we haven't done it at all.

Re: Introducing Driver Destination

#24

Post by lcusack »

michaelvkpdx wrote: post #22

Trying to charge people for carpooling, something we've traditionally done for free. The "sharing economy" isn't about sharing- it's about monetizing free things and taking a cut. This is not in any way improving humanity. It's a step backwards.

I think it's more about incentivizing sharing. Part of that is money but you're not going to make a lot carpooling to work.

Re: Introducing Driver Destination

#25

Post by jordanthoms »

pinaceae wrote: post #18

ass backwards. you want the next bn dollar idea? while I am at work, my car sits in the parking lot of the building for 8-10hours, unused. i don't want to be a lyft/uber driver. i want MY CAR to work for uber/lyft in its off hours. have a driver pick it up in the morning at the office, then return it when i want to get home (full gas tank and cleaned car for an extra fee). someone takes this and get rich.

Most of the cost is in the driver and driver recruitment, not the car. An additional car which isn't available at rush hour and has to be driven back to a specified point when you need it (and the driver is then going to need to get another ride to get to their next car) probably isn't worth much at all.

Re: Introducing Driver Destination

#26

Post by baddox »

michaelvkpdx wrote: post #22

Trying to charge people for carpooling, something we've traditionally done for free. The "sharing economy" isn't about sharing- it's about monetizing free things and taking a cut. This is not in any way improving humanity. It's a step backwards.

Presumably this would increase the supply and convenience of finding someone to carpool with, and presumably repeat carpoolers share at least fuel costs. I don't see this as a step backwards.

Re: Introducing Driver Destination

#27

Post by sbashyal »

michaelvkpdx wrote: post #22

Trying to charge people for carpooling, something we've traditionally done for free. The "sharing economy" isn't about sharing- it's about monetizing free things and taking a cut. This is not in any way improving humanity. It's a step backwards.

I believe this argument is flawed. Carpooling has been free only with friends in most cases which limits the number of possible carpools as it only works when people you know are heading same direction.

This opens up doors to higher number of carpools which would be a big boon for big metros like Los Angeles where rush hour traffic is a nightmare. Reducing traffic will be a big win for humanity.

Re: Introducing Driver Destination

#28

Post by jordanthoms »

jdawg77 wrote: post #14
mahyarm wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It will be, but it is appealing to a large casual set of the market, and it could reduce congestion significantly in a city if it gets enough traction.

Can't up-vote this one enough; worked at a startup for a while tackling all sorts of traffic related stuff with proprietary IP, industry veterans & more. Suffice to say that there are tons of papers out there which clearly say taking N% of the number of cars off the road reduces congestion by Y% - a very much larger impact than the number of cars taken off. This is because traffic, in general, is really caused by a s…

It's the same problem with queues - the people at the front don't have as much incentive to move quickly, since they're already at the front of the queue.

Probably the only way to really solve it is autonomous cars.

Re: Introducing Driver Destination

#29

Post by rhino369 »

cwilson wrote: post #11
eli wrote: post #7

Shared carpooling (called "slugging" here) has a been a viable commuting option for people in the DC area for decades. No money changes hands; the point is that a car with 3+ people can use the much faster HOV lanes. http://www.slug-lines.com/Slugging/About_slugging.asp

The thing is, I've never heard that term until now. I lived in the DC area for two years and worked with quite a few commuters. It's cool that it's a concept but there hasn't been mainstream adoption to the point where it's as easy as an app in your pocket until now. If a tree falls in the woods...

It's a fairly ubiquitous concept in DC. Hell, the website Zoe goes to work from in House of Cards is named after it.

Re: Introducing Driver Destination

#30

Post by kosei »

Very interesting. The most important thing to me personally is convenience, which is an itch that I believe this scratches. If I'm able to input that I'm going somewhere and this will help automatically direct me to people I can pickup and drop off on the way, it avoids the huge hassle of coordination. Additionally, it (presumably) helps with the issue of liability?
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