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

libretaxi.org

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

#301

Post by toxican »

uncletammy wrote: post #220
parasanti wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

If only there existed a peer-to-peer version of electronic cash that would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution . Maybe one of these days...

Sounds like a terrible solution for a place lacking something as financially basic as credit/debit cards.

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

#302

Post by Kalium »

bogomipz wrote: post #295
Kalium wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's possible that consistency may be a large part of the value proposition of Uber or Lyft. I can go across the country and get a ride with a company I have some level of trust in. Regional co-ops do what taxi companies did, forcing me to re-evaluate everything all over again in every new place.

Where's the consistency in getting into a stranger's car every time you use a service? The consistency would be the app? Often Uber drivers also drive for Lyft and vice versa. If the same drivers also embrace Libre Taxi I fail to see any fundamental difference in the experience.

Consistency in which app to use, the experience in using it, payment handling, insurance, customer service, and driver vetting. All of these offer value individually and in their consistency across locations.

You're right! It's absolutely possible that every driver may embrace Libre Taxi. In which case there would be no advantage whatsoever in terms of consistency.

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

#303

Post by [deleted] »

gmisra wrote: post #253

If app-fication of ride hailing is what you want, it's worth mentioning that in the SF bay area, Flywheel has done an excellent job of making a feature-rich app and network [0]. Personally, I have found it to be an excellent service, the things that matter the most to me are availability of rides, timeliness of driver dispatch and arrival, and communication with drivers (when necessary). [0] http://www.flywheel.com/p…

[deleted]

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

#304

Post by loblollyboy »

rthomas6 wrote: post #271
saint_fiasco wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my country most cell phones are on pre-paid plan. You can buy cell phone credits at a gas station, then that credit gets used up as you make calls and send messages. When the cell phone companies came up with a service to transfer cell phone credits to other users, people started using that as currency. Only problem is each company runs its own proprietary system and there is no way to send credit to a someone who…

In a few countries like Kenya and Tanzania, this concept is already in use and is extremely widespread. A LOT of people use this system instead of having a bank account. They even use it to pay bills and buy things at stores. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa

Yeah - but they're not talking about mobile money - they're talking about bitcoin.

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

#306

Post by bcook »

ralmeida wrote: post #293
bcook wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of cash currencies, aside from USD, that fluctuate wildly.

That's true, but most vary fluctuate wildly with respect to the USD, not in their purchasing power within their country of origin, even less so in the span of weeks or days. For example, if I was paid the equivalent of a 50 USD ride in Bitcoin in Jan 4, and were to go to buy food today, I could only buy 40 dollars worth of food. Which currency does that? Sure there may be a few examples in case of extreme inflation,…

My point is that both are flawed and have their uses.

I won't be paying any bills with Bitcoin any time soon.

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

#307

Post by avivo »

Kalium wrote: post #292
namlem wrote: post #289

I don't think this is the right approach. IMO, what we need a platform for regional driver co-ops. You obviously wouldn't have the consistency of Uber and Lyft, but the service would take only a tiny cut since they don't have to provide anything other than the app. When you want to hail a car, you'd be able to choose from any local services, which are responsible for the vetting and insurance of drivers. It has its f…

It's possible that consistency may be a large part of the value proposition of Uber or Lyft. I can go across the country and get a ride with a company I have some level of trust in. Regional co-ops do what taxi companies did, forcing me to re-evaluate everything all over again in every new place.

The co-ops can be members of an international org that ensures quality and consistency among its members.

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

#308

Post by tommorris »

kiliankoe wrote: post #26

Completely disregarding the rest of the page/service/post I kinda dislike that Telegram is being touted as the most secure messenger out there. That's not even close to true. By default all that Telegram offers is transport security and afaik unaudited end-to-end encryption with their own protocol if two users choose to use it (and lock themselves into the platform they start that conversation on).

Also having to have a phone number thing to set up an account sucks (same with Signal, WhatsApp etc.).

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

#309

Post by purerandomness »

rovek wrote: post #102
joeyspn wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BlaBlaCar [0] operates/ed only with community reviews (for drivers and passengers) and is doing just fine in EU... It is in fact so successful, that govs and press always talk about "services like blablacar and uber" (they're classified as basically the same kind of service) [0] https://www.blablacar.com/

I've literally never heard anyone outside Spotify ads 3 years ago even mention blablacar, let alone in the same breath as Uber.

Germany here.

Everyone I know (not exaggerating) knows about or has used services from BlaBlaCar.

Students use it regularly. Services like https://www.fromatob.de/ include it in the fare calculation.

Uber and Lyft are basically non-existent here.

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

#310

Post by k-mcgrady »

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 haven't been to a bank ATM in over 10 years."

I'm curious how this is possible or if you're exaggerating. I live in London, so a pretty well connected city, and although I can use card/contactless almost everywhere I still need cash about once a week as some small places won't accept card. 10 years ago I'm sure cash was much more necessary.

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