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Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

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Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#631

Post by chii »

Freedom2 wrote: post #510
dannyw wrote: post #498

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I took Google to a tribunal (think Australian equivalent of small claims) a few years ago, over a defective Pixel they refused to repair 2 years and 1 month after purchase. Under Australian Consumer Law, I wanted to make the case that a premium phone should last more than 2 years. Google’s representatives initially sent letters arguing that the license agreement forces me to arbitrate, to which I responded by adding…

That's a fantastic outcome, and honestly, a bit of a unicorn from my perspective here in the US. Your story about the Australian Consumer Law having actual teeth is a breath of fresh air. Here in the US, it feels like we're playing a whole different ball game, and the house (of Google) always wins. A buddy of mine, let's call him "Dave," had a strikingly similar issue with a Pixel phone a couple of years back. His de…

This is why arbitration on consumers should be illegal - aka, arbitration should only be legal when both entities are approximately similar in power/capability.

The whole reason for existence of courts is to ensure that parties with unequal power can be fairly treated. Arbitration seems to remove that via a loop hole.

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#632

Post by chii »

bapak wrote: post #481
Retric wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do it anyway. You get your money back, it costs them more money, and the more they ban people over stuff like this the faster you run shitty companies out of business. To do anything else promotes them doing the same thing to you in the future and other people.

And soon enough you don't have any apps to use. Sometimes you gotta pick your fights. Chargebacks to gatekeepers are the worst because life is long and you will always lose.

it's why you take them to small claims court. Unfortunately, the terms and conditions have made sure they are clear of small claims by forcing you to do arbitration, which is more expensive for you than them (in relative terms, unless they also put into the T&C to pay for your arbitration costs - which some companies have done iirc, such as epic games).

Chargebacks are the last resort - only really worth doing if it is a large amount that you will miss if not charged back.

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#633

Post by TheDong »

iw7tdb2kqo9 wrote: post #65

I am happy that Waymo is making money. Google would kill it, if it could not make money.

idk, google has a nice list of things that seem like they'll never be profitable, but it keeps running em. Like, google patents, google books, google translate... none of those make money, right? Chromium only makes money indirectly I think, and they invest a ton of engineering resources in that.

Google kills stuff, but they don't kill everything, just stuff that no one is working on (like google reader, I think all the people who cared about the code just quit), or stuff that is specifically counter to some exec's strategy (like killing a bunch of chat software to centralize on Google+ or whatever it is now)

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#634

Post by StableAlkyne »

oefrha wrote: post #503
StableAlkyne wrote: post #390

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[Caveat: there aren't many Lyft drivers in my town, so I have only used Uber] The problem is their system extorts you into tipping. If you don't tip, the driver will give you a 1/5 rating. If your rating averages low enough, nobody will pick you up. It's more of a bribe you pay for a good passenger rating than an actual tip. As a result, you're forced to tip if you want to use it long term. Personally, I'm hoping Way…

That’s straight up false. I don’t tip and my Uber passenger rating was ~4.95 last I checked.

A single anecdote does not a dataset make

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#636

Post by [deleted] »

tomhow wrote: post #593
Tabular-Iceberg wrote: post #560

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Flagged and dead? Are we to take that as Y-Combinator officially endorsing violent rioting and property destruction?

What makes you think this? It was flagged by users. No moderators had touched it, or seen it.

[deleted]

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#637

Post by blindriver »

harvey9 wrote: post #629
jonny_eh wrote: post #551

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber lets you enable a PIN for each ride. The driver can't say they picked you up until they punch in the random 4 digit PIN the app gave you for the ride.

This is good, but why can't these firms determine when your phone and the drivers phone are far apart?

Too many people order Ubers for other people so it won’t work.

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#638

Post by michaelt »

harvey9 wrote: post #629
jonny_eh wrote: post #551

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber lets you enable a PIN for each ride. The driver can't say they picked you up until they punch in the random 4 digit PIN the app gave you for the ride.

This is good, but why can't these firms determine when your phone and the drivers phone are far apart?

It's not unusual to call a taxi for another person. Or to make a multi-stop journey where some people get out before others. You can even send a parcel across town in a taxi.

Checking phone proximity might be helpful in some cases, but it's not a silver bullet.

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#639

Post by bgwalter »

harmmonica wrote: post #137

As a Waymo-booster on HN for a while now, here's my latest anecdote. I tried to figure out how to take Waymo to LAX even though it's not actually in their territory yet just because I value the experience so much. I was borderline going to take it within walking distance (about half a mile), but got lazy at the last minute. I took Lyft instead, and, as if the universe cursed my laziness, I booked a "comfort" car for…

Before Uber and Lyft destroyed the functioning taxi market, you got Mercedes by default for a traditional, regulated taxi in many EU countries.

You didn't have to argue, interact with a surveillance company, interact with customer service etc. All you needed to do is pick up the phone and get a luxury ride without tracking or surveillance.

Re: Waymo rides cost more than Uber or Lyft and people are paying anyway

#640

Post by Propelloni »

ctxc wrote: post #548
cwalv wrote: post #547

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An OTP that's reused?

I mean it _technically_ isn't an OTP, but you know what I mean - just a code only the user knows that they need to share with the rider. The threat model is sufficiently low to justify the much better UX of not having to look the code up everytime.

The acronym you are looking for is "PIN", a Personal Identification Number.
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