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

libretaxi.org

221–230 of 400 posts

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

#221

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…

Taxi driver is more dangerous than being a Police Officer because being a Police Officer is a very safe job.

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

#222

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.

"Terribly dangerous" == not dangerous at all.

Criminals aren't liable to want to leave an electronic trail driving a taxi just to rob someone. It's likely to be nearly as safe as riding Uber or Taxis in general, which is to say extremely safe.

What's more likely is the driver will get robbed, but even then that's not going to happen very often.

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

#223
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that's not what Uber/Lyft does. And this is said to be an alternative to that.

And how do Uper/Lyft prevent ax murderers? http://www.whosdrivingyou.org/rideshare-incidents

How does you prevent axe murders in your home?

http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2016/08/accused_citr...

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

#224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering the number of drivers/riders these services have, and the number of rides completed, I'd say that's an impressively small list of -- in many cases alleged -- incidents. There's no way you could reasonably expect a rideshare service to eliminate all such incidents.

But do you have anything to compare it with? Regular taxis, just hitchhiking etc? Maybe the whole safety thing is just fearmonger.

We know the whole safety thing is a fear monger.

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

#225
post #136
post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is that any different from taking a taxi nowadays?

Taxi drivers usually go through checks before they can get their license.

And yet taxi drivers still murder, rape and rob passengers every year. It's like the whole "background checks" thing is just a sop for fear mongers.

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

#226
post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dumb question - don't both of these concerns exist with normal taxis too?

Taxis, for all of their warts, have a number you can call, someone in the local government you can contact, etc.

Yes, you can contact someone who won't give a crap. That's what you get for paying the monopoly price for taxi services.

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

#227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How would a blockchain possibly help with that? If it was proof-of-work, why would anyone trust that spending CPU time correlates with saying the truth? If it was proof-of-stake, how can you guarantee that bad actors won't simply create a new public key? And regardless, who would switch to an app that drains their battery?

You link your identity to the public ledger, and when people rate you positively, you build up your overall repuation score which anyone can verify on the public ledger.

And a web of trust benefits from blockchains or smart contracts because _____?

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

#229
post #131

I'll post a comment from ProductHunt, which might give a bit more context to where the founder sees this going, and why cash rides make sense under certain circumstances he designed the app for: […] I have gone to the founder's blog and it provides a better understanding of where he sees it going: Uber (and similar apps) will never reach many remote villages, cities and regions around the world (and don't have to), b…

Uber is trying to address the Credit Card issues after it noticed that lots of Singaporeans, maids and foreign labor do not have credit cards but still needs the service. They accept cash now. https://www.techinasia.com/uber-cash-payments-singapore

Cash is also accepted in Mexico ... TJ at least.
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