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Announcing UberPool

blog.uber.com

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Re: Announcing UberPool

#51

Post by MBCook »

minimaxir wrote: post #2

I'm a little surprised at the choice of "Pool" instead of more conventional terms in the sharing economy such as "UberShare" or "UberContribute." I was very disappointed that UberPool isn't a swimming-pool-as-a-service.

I agree. My immediate thought was something more akin to 'motor pool'. Maybe a way to pre-buy a group of rides at the same time or to the same place, such as getting friends to/from a party, for a discount.

Or perhaps it could have been a service where Uber had their own fleet of 'special' drivers for 'premium' members to help with peak demand times. Of course, this sounds quite a bit like a traditional contracted car service.

UberShare seems more fitting to me. Having read what it is the name makes sense, but it didn't inform me going in.

Re: Announcing UberPool

#52

Post by jcomis »

ZoF wrote: post #42
RandallBrown wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Seattle, a car2go trip that costs $15 would be 36 minutes long. Car2Go has no mileage fee for trips under 150 miles. The same UberX trip would be $13 before taking mileage into account. If it took you 36 minutes, I assume you went at least 3 miles. So that makes the trip cost at least 17 bucks. I've found that Car2Go is quite a bit cheaper than using either Lyft or UberX. I usually use them together though. I'll t…

Doesn't Car2Go require you to bring the car back to it's starting point? Are there multiple locations you can drop the car at, and if not, how do you handle that when taking it to the bar?

Car2go can be parked at any street legal parking spot with 2+ hr limits. There are no restrictions really.

Re: Announcing UberPool

#53

Post by slykat »

downandout wrote: post #44
andrewmunsell wrote: post #14

I'm a periodic Uber user and tend to use it later when public transit isn't running. This would be interesting, and if cheap enough, could be more convenient than waiting for a bus if you're in an area where they don't run frequently and it's storming, extremely hot, you don't want to wait around. I also just tried out Car2Go which costed me ~$15. The same trip from Uber, albiet at a different time of day, costs $9-1…

Are Uber users this price conscious though? I think their core user base skews to a higher net worth, and aren't going to be the kinds of people that want to share a car with another person. The only thing they'll know about the person they are sharing with going in is that they are too cheap to take their own Uber ride. This just doesn't sound like it will work with their core user base. Maybe they are trying to exp…

With the pivot of UberX yes. Previously Uber had a luxury brand position, all of their products (UberX, Black Car, SUV) were priced higher than a taxi, and the bulk of their revenue was coming from black car services. I remember the old advertising and they never had the concept of a "sale" or messaging about their pricing relative to the competition.

However the rise of Lyft and other competitors essentially pushed Uber to go into a price gauging war. They went into a big price cut with UberX that essentially made them cheaper than both Lyft & taxis, and had a lot of advertising campaigns talking about their price advantage. This happened late last year (I believe) and since then both Lyft & Uber have been going through a series of price cuts & driver promotions to compete on both side of the table.

So yes, Uber users are definitely price conscious. This has happened largely because Uber has shifted its model more towards UberX. Slashing fares was a pretty bold move (companies rarely cannibalize cash cows with high margins).

The new focus, I think is to consolidate their position by growing aggressively, competing with Lyft on pricing & driver promotions, and ultimately, drive the cost of service so low that they expand the market past on-demand limos (Uber before X), cabs (Uber now), to a service cheaper than owning a car (Uber in the future).

Re: Announcing UberPool

#54

Post by joelgrus »

downandout wrote: post #44
andrewmunsell wrote: post #14

I'm a periodic Uber user and tend to use it later when public transit isn't running. This would be interesting, and if cheap enough, could be more convenient than waiting for a bus if you're in an area where they don't run frequently and it's storming, extremely hot, you don't want to wait around. I also just tried out Car2Go which costed me ~$15. The same trip from Uber, albiet at a different time of day, costs $9-1…

Are Uber users this price conscious though? I think their core user base skews to a higher net worth, and aren't going to be the kinds of people that want to share a car with another person. The only thing they'll know about the person they are sharing with going in is that they are too cheap to take their own Uber ride. This just doesn't sound like it will work with their core user base. Maybe they are trying to exp…

I am starting a new job soon about 3 miles from my apartment, which is a little too far to walk. (I can walk that far, but I don't really want an hour-each-way commute.)

One thing I've been considering is using Uber / Lyft, but it's a lot of money over the course of a year. At 40% cheaper it looks a lot more attractive, though. And sharing a car with another rider isn't any worse than sharing it with the driver! :)

Re: Announcing UberPool

#56

Post by cblock811 »

superuser2 wrote: post #49
downandout wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are Uber users this price conscious though? I think their core user base skews to a higher net worth, and aren't going to be the kinds of people that want to share a car with another person. The only thing they'll know about the person they are sharing with going in is that they are too cheap to take their own Uber ride. This just doesn't sound like it will work with their core user base. Maybe they are trying to exp…

Users of Uber proper might be high net worth, but UberX is popular with (among others) college students, because it's a bit cheaper than taking a cab and you don't need to carry cash.

Agreed. I used to drive for Lyft when UberX started up. They did get a good pull of the college and young 20's market with their service in SF.

I just think of brand differentiation with these companies now, not really the price point.

Re: Announcing UberPool

#57

Post by vikramhaer »

dk8996 wrote: post #55

Where can I bet that Google will buy Uber and make self-driving Uber cars? (I am not joking, do people know where I can place a bet on this?)

Google ventures invested $258M in Uber about a year ago, I'd say it's highly likely that if self-driving cars pan out, there'll be an Uber fleet of them.

Re: Announcing UberPool

#58

Post by zyxley »

ZoF wrote: post #42
RandallBrown wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Seattle, a car2go trip that costs $15 would be 36 minutes long. Car2Go has no mileage fee for trips under 150 miles. The same UberX trip would be $13 before taking mileage into account. If it took you 36 minutes, I assume you went at least 3 miles. So that makes the trip cost at least 17 bucks. I've found that Car2Go is quite a bit cheaper than using either Lyft or UberX. I usually use them together though. I'll t…

Doesn't Car2Go require you to bring the car back to it's starting point? Are there multiple locations you can drop the car at, and if not, how do you handle that when taking it to the bar?

You're thinking of Zipcar.

With Car2Go, you leave the car in any legal on-street parking space (sometimes limited to 15 min+/1 hr+/2 hr+ depending on city) in the "home area" (borders depend on the city but are typically pretty expansive). The company contracts with each city to basically pay a flat rate for street and metered parking for all the cars yearly.

Re: Announcing UberPool

#59

Post by mdorazio »

joelgrus wrote: post #54
downandout wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are Uber users this price conscious though? I think their core user base skews to a higher net worth, and aren't going to be the kinds of people that want to share a car with another person. The only thing they'll know about the person they are sharing with going in is that they are too cheap to take their own Uber ride. This just doesn't sound like it will work with their core user base. Maybe they are trying to exp…

I am starting a new job soon about 3 miles from my apartment, which is a little too far to walk. (I can walk that far, but I don't really want an hour-each-way commute.) One thing I've been considering is using Uber / Lyft, but it's a lot of money over the course of a year. At 40% cheaper it looks a lot more attractive, though. And sharing a car with another rider isn't any worse than sharing it with the driver! :)

Is there a reason you don't want to just bike? Seems like the perfect distance for it, and it's free after the initial investment of a couple hundred dollars.
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