Announcing UberPool • Hacker News Board

Re: Announcing UberPool

#81

Post by joelgrus » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 5:56 AM UTC

mdorazio wrote: post #59

joelgrus wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I very much do want to bike, but my family (and some of my bike-commuting friends) seem to think I'll get hit by a truck and are very against the idea. :P

Re: Announcing UberPool

#82

Post by megablast » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 6:19 AM UTC

msoad wrote: post #30

There is a car sharing service in France called Blah Blah. Passengers have rated "Blah" so you don't have to share ride with people who speak less or more than you usually. http://www.blablacar.com/

Car sharing services in France are incredibly popular, everyone uses them. This is partly because the government has a monopoly and keeps the trains expensive, and stops buses from running. In the UK, buses are the way to go, you get very cheap buses if you book in advance.

Re: Announcing UberPool

#83

Post by gwintrob » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 6:22 AM UTC

This reminds me of Via[0]:

"Shared rides in a premium SUV or Mercedes van. As fast as a taxi at a fraction of the price."

All of the competition in ride sharing has been great in the Bay Area. UberX is sometimes in a price range closer to riding the bus or BART.

[0] http://www.ridewithvia.com/

Re: Announcing UberPool

#84

Post by jbarham » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 6:28 AM UTC

prawn wrote: post #78

jbarham wrote: post #67

Every time I read about Uber I wonder who the target market is. Then I remember that as a father of three young boys our car has three car-seats in the back row, a CD in the CD player and more in the glovebox to keep the boys quiet, snacks in the center console to placate them when they're hungry, and a stroller in the trunk. And then I realize that Uber is made by and for young, single, childless people with lots of…

Why does the target market need to be young, single and childless? It would work for couples without kids, or parents with kids who've left home or are being left with a sitter. Or families where the children can go 30 minutes without needing food or entertainment. Or older people who aren't keen to drive in a city or deal with parking. Obviously those with young children specifically are in a different position and…

I'm acutely aware of the fact that the main reason I own a car is because I'm married w/ children. When I was single I quite happily got around by bicycle and motorcycle...

But transporting young children is a specific use case, and it's a very common one where something like Uber isn't really an attractive or viable substitute for your own car given the bulky support paraphenelia required, often by law (car seats, strollers etc.)

Re: Announcing UberPool

#85

Post by jordanthoms » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 6:33 AM UTC

AVTizzle wrote: post #76

>>Even if we don’t find an UberPool match for you, we’ll give you a discount on your ride. That's huge. A huge problem Hitch faces is having enough demand-side riders on the market to make the marketplace viable [1] Uber is going to be subsidizing the demand-side of the marketplace until the marketplace matures and demand fills in. [1] http://www.crewlab.net/uberpool

And they've just collected 1.2 billion to help them along with that.

Re: Announcing UberPool

#86

Post by drstewart » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 6:36 AM UTC

jbarham wrote: post #67

Every time I read about Uber I wonder who the target market is. Then I remember that as a father of three young boys our car has three car-seats in the back row, a CD in the CD player and more in the glovebox to keep the boys quiet, snacks in the center console to placate them when they're hungry, and a stroller in the trunk. And then I realize that Uber is made by and for young, single, childless people with lots of…

I find the tone in your post a bit bizarre. It'd be like me saying:

Every time I read about Gerber I wonder who the target market is. Then I remember that I'm a childless adult with a pantry full of food and lots of takeout menus on hand. And then I realize that Gerber is made by and for old, married, child-bearing couples with who live in the Midwest.

Re: Announcing UberPool

#87

Post by seliopou » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 6:55 AM UTC

Seems like Uber will eventually converge on a model of privately-owned publicly-accessible mass transportation.

Re: Announcing UberPool

#88

Post by antaviana » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 7:34 AM UTC

How soon are we going to see demonstrations of Uber drivers complaining about Uberpoolers taking their business?

Re: Announcing UberPool

#89

Post by stbtrax » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 8:04 AM UTC

soheil wrote: post #75

Almost in every single other country this has always been the way to ride a taxi. "This is also a bold social experiment." come on! They're making it sound like they discovered nuclear fusion.

How do people organize cab shares in other countries?

Re: Announcing UberPool

#90

Post by pyb » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 8:06 AM UTC

necubi wrote: post #4

Sounds very similar to Hitch[0] which launched a couple of months ago in SF. It sounds very useful for long, expensive trips (e.g., cross bay, down to south bay) where the fixed cost of picking up or dropping off another passenger is a smaller factor. On an unrelated note, how is the form at the bottom supposed to update you when UberPool is in your area? Area codes are going to be inaccurate for anybody who's moved…

I can't imagine Hitch still competing in this market in a month's time.