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Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

nytimes.com

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Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#241

Post by annnnd »

pfranz wrote: post #216
MichaelApproved wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't think it's reasonable to expect ride share companies to pay their drivers a fair wage It's always reasonable to expect companies to pay their people a fair wage.

I always liked the quote, “No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country.”

Nice quote, thanks!

"In my Inaugural I laid down the simple proposition that nobody is going to starve in this country. It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By "business" I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level-I mean the wages of decent living."

Franklin Roosevelt's Statement on the National Industrial Recovery Act (16 June 1933)

[0] https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#242

Post by ryhamz »

mahyarm wrote: post #210
envy2 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not—and anyone who says that it is is deluding themselves. I think we've reached the point where ridesharing apps are 100% a commodity: there's no real product differentiation, so I'll choose based on price and how long it'll take the car to arrive. Lyft drivers seem 'happier,' but that hasn't translated into anything significantly different for me in terms of ride quality. This won't be a popular opinion, but I…

TBH, driving is a harder skill to learn than being a McDonalds fry cook.

So is speaking fluent English (even as a native speaker). The thing is that both are so common that they aren't really skills in the US market.

Knowing how to drive is nearly ubiquitous in the US in the 18+ year old population.

So, let's say the metric is "additional training required after age 18".

Driving: likely none. McDonalds: likely a little!

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#243

Post by pawadu »

biztos wrote: post #212
deusex_ wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Europe, your bus fare would be half of the price and probably you would need one or two connections. The public transport is much more developed and to me seems like a much better mass transportation alternative. More ecological, cheaper, less cars overall.

81 EUR in Berlin for the "normal" ticket (zones A+B), 100 EUR for the whole network. Discounted tickets for late sleepers. :-)

Also, the public transportation system in Berlin is much faster and more efficient.

(compared to SF, compared to rest of EU not so much)

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#244

Post by sundvor »

foxfired wrote: post #127

Here is how I see it. I rely on those rides to go to work every single day and here what it (would) costs me. Uber: $250 a month.(Majority) Lyft: $500 a month (Whenever Uber is too expensive) Bus : $100 a month (1h:15 for 6 miles and 3 buses... No) Politics and all internal conflicts aside, there is a need for these services whether we like it or not. When I need to make a decision in the morning I take whatever is t…

Get a bicycle? I can ride 22km (about twice your commute?) in 1 hour in Australia, and that's being overweight and unfit.. sadly can't do it every day but if / when I could do it every day I'd do it much faster too.

Alas I'm driving my own car most days (3-4 days a week) and that's about $20 in toll fees and fuel, not including finance, insurance, reggo and maintenance. It takes from 40-60 minutes each way, so a bit but not significantly faster than riding.

Still if I used uber I'd be looking at $50 each way, easily making car ownership have lower TCO. There's no Lyft in Melbourne, Australia.

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#245

Post by foldr »

argonaut wrote: post #190
semi-extrinsic wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if you're thinking about area or population, but by either metric London is bigger than any city in the US, and has a much better public transport system.

The New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas are larger in area than the London metropolitan area The NY metro area is much more populous than London, and the LA metro area is very slightly less populous.

>The NY metro area is much more populous than London, and the LA metro area is very slightly le

Well, 14 million vs 20 million is not such a big difference. And the definition of metropolitan areas is somewhat arbitrary in any case.

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#246

Post by stevekemp »

smileysteve wrote: post #110
gboss wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really don't understand what the issue is with tipping. I am American and I love the custom. I feel being able to pay directly the person I have received a service from is very powerful. I think it does incentivise a better work ethic and it's a very social way of affording a middle class income. Now states that reduce the minimum wage for tip workers, that's evil (I live in California).

There are many issues with tipping This article and the research behind it http://www.esquire.com/food-drink/restaurants/a23132/why-tip... 3. The percentage basis makes no sense. 4. Better service doesn't actually beget better tips. 5. It perpetuates racism and sexism.

6. It rewards arbitrary people.

If you go out and eat a fantastic piece of food do you think the person who should be rewarded is:

* The person who actually made the food.

* The person who carried it to your table.

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#247

Post by csydas »

ryhamz wrote: post #234
foxfired wrote: post #127

Here is how I see it. I rely on those rides to go to work every single day and here what it (would) costs me. Uber: $250 a month.(Majority) Lyft: $500 a month (Whenever Uber is too expensive) Bus : $100 a month (1h:15 for 6 miles and 3 buses... No) Politics and all internal conflicts aside, there is a need for these services whether we like it or not. When I need to make a decision in the morning I take whatever is t…

The services are there. Cheap and slow or expensive and fast. Right now you're spoiled with cheap and fast, which will change eventually; I'd recommend planning for this. >Sure I want to support those who work for a company that respect them Do you really? Clearly not to the tune of an additional $250 for daily private car service or additional commute time on the buses.

> Right now you're spoiled with cheap and fast, which will change eventually; I'd recommend planning for this.

I think this is the big picture with Uber right now; Uber subsidizing the costs cannot continue forever, or at least it really doesn't look like they can; if public transit isn't an option for you, then you need to be prepared to accept that your costs right now are not reflective of the actual cost to provide the service.

The Uber/Lyft model is very cool and it does meet an important need for many US cities, but unfortunately what is offered now doesn't represent the full cost of supporting such a service. I really appreciate the difficulty you have with your commute - before I moved abroad, I lived in a smaller US city which had tragically experienced a catastrophe with its public transit that resulted in it being even further underfunded. An 3 hour total commute each day does take it out of you, but it's the cost of cities in the US being underfunded for public transit and for cities being designed around everyone owning a car.

You can continue to live off Uber for as long as it lasts, but if you're going to have the same commute long term, it might be better to start putting your money and effort towards trying to improve the public transit; most cities have public transit boards/committees that are happy to have people join them, and the more people they can get to assist, the more influence they can have on local and state governments to improve the situation. Being reliant on Uber pretty much means you're reliant on public transportation, so your choices are either be ready to start paying the actual cost, or work to improve the cheaper public transit alternatives.

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#248

Post by celticninja »

paulddraper wrote: post #225
IanCal wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always dislike these comparisons. The truth is simply that it depends. You can't justify an unknown city having a certain quality of bus routes compared to a diverse range of tens of countries by saying "it's smaller". It'd be slower and more expensive in some parts of the UK, easier in others and in some countries I assume you'd be expected to just cycle the 6 miles.

> cycle the 6 miles The minority cycles. Crowded cyclists are hardly better than crowded cars.

Crowded cyclists are much denser than crowded cars.

http://www.bikehub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Munster1...

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#249

Post by cr1895 »

paulddraper wrote: post #225
IanCal wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always dislike these comparisons. The truth is simply that it depends. You can't justify an unknown city having a certain quality of bus routes compared to a diverse range of tens of countries by saying "it's smaller". It'd be slower and more expensive in some parts of the UK, easier in others and in some countries I assume you'd be expected to just cycle the 6 miles.

> cycle the 6 miles The minority cycles. Crowded cyclists are hardly better than crowded cars.

Please come visit the Netherlands.

Re: Lyft Is Said to Seek New Funding as Its Rival Uber Stumbles

#250

Post by jarjoura »

patrickaljord wrote: post #227
yunti wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The answer is that, you are using a service that is unsustainably too cheap. In the longer term the price will have to increase, probably quite significantly and you'll have to choose whether you think it's still worth it or take the bus. Unfortunately you, and many others are the ones benefitting from drivers being underpaid.

> Unfortunately you, and many others are the ones benefitting from drivers being underpaid. To be fair, these drivers would be out of jobs without Uber. They are not qualified enough to find better paying jobs. Being underpaid is still better than not being paid at all. However, there's a limit to how little Uber can pay its drivers before they start looking for better paying jobs elsewhere. Uber needs to balance thi…

That's not entirely fair or accurate to call them out on lack of skill. Many of the drivers I've met along the way over the years have all enjoyed the flexibility. College kids making extra party/food money, stay at home moms who are avoiding being bored. Just the other day I had a driver who was in between jobs and was using the time for interviews.

Any serious driver who is full time will most likely move up to the black cars and get private clients over time.

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