Google launches Uber rival RideWith • Hacker News Board

Re: Google launches Uber rival RideWith

#91

Post by vinnyc » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 5:09 PM UTC

abluecloud wrote: post #2

> Drivers will only be able to make two trips per day, and the software will ensure they only travel from their home neighborhoods to their workplaces. > There also won’t be a ton of money changing hands as a passenger will pay the driver only a nominal fare for the trip I'd hardly call it a Uber rival

I suspect many of these things will change as features like only two trips per day doesn't seem very sustainable. Right now it's not even close to being a rival, but what it evolves into very well may.

Re: Google launches Uber rival RideWith

#92

Post by sigkill » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 5:09 PM UTC

XaspR8d wrote: post #81

OscarCunningham wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>i suspect in general ,that self-driving cars and especially taxis would push the car market to derive much less value from branding and marketing and much more value from hardcore technology with design being much less a differentiator than today Why?

A lot of people have hypothesized that autonomous vehicles will drastically change the economics such that daily car sharing/rental will be cheaper than car ownership, and similarly convenient. This might in turn lead to a decline in car culture and personal car ownership. With a larger percentage of vehicles being owned by companies (or at least by individuals who are often loaning out their vehicle to the network),…

So... in the future with all cars almost autonomous, I'm wondering will there be a resurgence in motorcycle touring culture?

Re: Google launches Uber rival RideWith

#93

Post by minthd » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 5:11 PM UTC

dylanjermiah wrote: post #47

amelius wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google: Company that is using its power established in one market to gain control of another market. Uber: Entering a market with disregard of rules established for that market.

Interesting, how would you define 'unfair competition' and 'fair competition'? In a general sense.

amelius's answer is what the law sees as "unfair competition", altough often it's hard to sue i think(IANAL).

Re: Google launches Uber rival RideWith

#94

Post by stoshe » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 5:17 PM UTC

MarcScott wrote: post #88

Does this mean we can look forward to fleets of self-driving cars roaming the streets and waiting for someone to hail them with Google's app? Or maybe your personal self-driving car will inform you that there are people travelling your route that you can share fuel costs with.

Both, or at least I hope so.

The benefits of driver-less vehicles in terms of accidents and fatalities aside, consider for a moment just how under utilized the current transportation capacity is in this country. On average, even at peak drive times, what percentage of vehicles are actually being used? Just look down your street or at any parking lot you pass on your way into the office.

In order to get the convenience of not having to call a taxi which could then require a long wait every time we need to go somewhere, we take out loans for tens of thousands of dollars to own a vehicle that is all ours. We then pay to maintain the multi-ton machine, build custom paths and storage buildings on our homes just to store them, and everywhere we go large swatches of land are set aside just to give us temporary storage for our vehicles since we can't reasonably visit any location without this machine in tow.

In a reality where we must own a vehicle in order to move around quickly and easily, all of these things make perfect sense and are just a part of our lives so much so that we don't even think about them most of the time. This one "little" change can completely transform it all.

Re: Google launches Uber rival RideWith

#95

Post by OscarCunningham » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 5:20 PM UTC

XaspR8d wrote: post #81

OscarCunningham wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>i suspect in general ,that self-driving cars and especially taxis would push the car market to derive much less value from branding and marketing and much more value from hardcore technology with design being much less a differentiator than today Why?

A lot of people have hypothesized that autonomous vehicles will drastically change the economics such that daily car sharing/rental will be cheaper than car ownership, and similarly convenient. This might in turn lead to a decline in car culture and personal car ownership. With a larger percentage of vehicles being owned by companies (or at least by individuals who are often loaning out their vehicle to the network),…

I suspect Apple etc. will deliberately create a rental car status competition.

Re: Google launches Uber rival RideWith

#96

Post by stoshe » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 5:20 PM UTC

crazychrome wrote: post #67

wheaties wrote: post #62

Is it me or is Google doing the Microsoft "Me too!" with all these things they're trying and then closing down a few months later?

Unlike Microsoft, who had the will and executive ability to expand to new territories and destroy competitors, Google has a remarkable record of half-baked works and giving up. it's a joke.

There is a very serious benefit to recognizing a losing hand and folding before you're in too deep. You see a weakness in Google's execution, and I'd agree in some places, but there is some wisdom in closing up failed experiments rather than doubling down as Microsoft has done with several of their investments in the past.

Re: Google launches Uber rival RideWith

#97

Post by dylanjermiah » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 5:21 PM UTC

untog wrote: post #77

minthd wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has access to all the location data of each of it's users.

Except that they've made a big deal lately of differentiating themselves from Google by not using your data.

That's what I thought, unsure if it's true. But Tim Cook was making a big deal about the lack of data collection.

Re: Google launches Uber rival RideWith

#98

Post by OscarCunningham » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 5:22 PM UTC

ForHackernews wrote: post #79

OscarCunningham wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>i suspect in general ,that self-driving cars and especially taxis would push the car market to derive much less value from branding and marketing and much more value from hardcore technology with design being much less a differentiator than today Why?

What model of car was the last taxi you took? Did you pick that taxi because of its stylish design? In contrast, were you impressed that the driver knew a shortcut to avoid traffic by getting off one exit early and going through a parking garage?

Actually, I am surprised by how nice taxis are. I never find myself in an "old" taxi. But perhaps it's just that the heavy use wears the engine out before the exterior loses its shine.

Re: Google launches Uber rival RideWith

#99

Post by taigeair » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 5:25 PM UTC

My prediction number 5 :)

5. New functionality - e.g. If you're going somewhere while using Google Maps for navigation and turn on "Carpool" mode, people can see your path and message you for a pick up. They pay you for partial journey via the app.

http://www.quora.com/How-will-Google-monetize-Google-Maps

Re: Google launches Uber rival RideWith

#100

Post by j_camarena » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 5:32 PM UTC

adevine wrote: post #45

stephengillie wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd hardly call it an Uber rival Isn't this what Lyft does? I'm guessing Uber put some money in a reporter's pocket to submarine them in this article instead.

Lyft certainly lets you take more that 2 drives per day, and certainly not just too and from work. Also, at least in some locales Lyft has gotten rid of the "donation" fiction as many local laws explicitly state that any type of payment counts as a ride-for-hire. This is basically just a carpooling app, and is nowhere near a rival to Uber or Lyft.

yet.