
The Black Car Company That People Love to Hate - sethbannon
http://nextcity.org/forefront/view/the-black-car-company-that-people-love-to-hate
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leetrout
I like that a good chunk of the article was about service in DC. When I lived
there I still ran in to the occasional Uber driver that would not want to take
me to my home in Alexandria from the heart of downtown.

I'll also echo the author's comments that Uber opened up parts of DC that I
would have otherwise avoided including Georgetown, Adams Morgan, and the
Eastern end of H street / Northeast DC.

At the time Adams Morgan was getting more parking but I really didn't enjoy
driving up there and getting a taxi was still spotty at certain times.

I don't live there any more so I don't know if the H street light rail is
operational yet but I can say that I never would have frequented Dangerously
Delicious Pies without Uber.

As a previous working Washingtonian I wish Uber the best and if nothing else
am happy for the change they are driving. (Pun intended ;)

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chiph
One problem with the ride-sharing apps (Lyft and Uber) is insurance companies
are now wise to them.

I just got my renewal, and they specifically exclude coverage for vehicle
damage, occupant injuries, pedestrian injuries, and pretty much everything
else, should your vehicle be used in a ride-sharing program.

~~~
mistermann
Perfectly reasonable in my opinion.

~~~
Houshalter
How? Are they more likely to get in accidents? And even so wouldn't that
justify higher premiums, not complete exclusion?

~~~
seanmcdirmid
If you drive more, you are more likely to get into an accident. This is why
taxi drivers have to pay more for insurance than commuters. They definitely
should pay a higher premium (or a premium scaled to usage).

~~~
mistermann
Not to mention, in my experience taxi drivers have a tendency to want to get
to their destination _quickly_!

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memracom
I remember when I was in Russia back in 2205 and it was so much simpler than
that. I just went to the edge of the road and raised my hand. within seconds a
car pulled up. How much to go to the central bus station I asked. He quoted
the price, I knew that I had the right change in my pocket because in Russia,
you always keep mental track of what you have. I got in, we drove a few km to
the station. I got the cash out of my pocket, handed it over and got out.
Simple.

Of course it was because in the uber-capitalist Russian Federation either
there were no laws about taxis or everyone ignored them. Anyone needing to
earn some spare cash offered people rides. Always round numbers in cash
negotiated in advance. Simple.

~~~
thenmar
ah yes, Russia, the shining example of libertarian utopia.

~~~
testrun
not only that, it is futuristic - they are already in the 23 rd century

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codex
The main selling point of Uber is the app--but eventually Yellow Cab, et al
will also have slick apps. What's the long term competitive advantage, besides
evading regulation? Self driving cars, most likely.

~~~
sedev
That's a lot of "eventually." Uber is a software company that runs cabs,
basically. Their competitors - the old school, that is - are cab companies who
are now faced with the challenge of writing good software. The track record in
general of industries where long-established players find that they have to
become software companies and put out a polished product there, in addition to
whatever they were already doing, suggests to me that the timeline for old-
school cab companies putting out an app that doesn't look like total garbage
next to Uber's, is likely to extend so far out that it might as well be never.
They may turn around and subcontract the work of creating and maintaining the
app, but that has its own problems that we're all familiar with.

~~~
ForHackernews
Why couldn't some software company license out their app to cab companies? The
Uber app is slick, but it's not exactly groundbreaking tech--somebody could
clone it.

~~~
ericd
This seems like a good business idea, but it would likely be fairly messy and
hard to provide a uniformly good user experience. But I'm guessing that a lot
of cab companies would pay for this software dispatch service, if you just
sent them customers (perhaps according to bids they set?)

~~~
ebonfortress
In Russia, a leading internet search provider rolled out an aggregator app,
it's pretty good. There're multiple others as far as I remember.

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ape4
I don't get it. Doesn't every airport in the world have taxis waiting. Why
would you need an app to get a taxi at an airport.

~~~
pkfrank
I've had Uber drivers say not to bother using the app at LAX. They need to get
a separate permit from airport officials to pick up the passenger, so it's at
minimum a ~30 minute ordeal to arrange pick-up.

Uber isn't right for every use-case; especially pick-ups from regulated areas
where taxi stands are already prevalent.

~~~
ewang1
My Uber driver just told me to request the ride when the plane touches down so
he can get the permit ahead of time.

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wallflower
More on Uber and D.C.

[http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/why-
you-...](http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/why-you-cant-get-
a-taxi/308942/)

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excitom
Yeah, there's just that little price gouging problem during times of scarcity.
I think they took a big PR hit when the cost of rides skyrocketed during
recent storms. Old style regulated cab companies can't do that.

~~~
eddieroger
I got hit by a price modifier during my last trip using Uber, but I didn't
(and still don't) think gouging is the right word. I figure it's supply and
demand modifier. They can't change supply, but demand has gone up for some
reason (storms, in your scenario and mine, actually). Some people aren't
willing to pay more, so it curbs demand, while incentivizing drivers who may
not wish to drive in inclement weather to stay out. Of course, it's really
just taking advantage of a situation to Uber's benefit, but I still think
"gouging" is too strong of a word for it.

~~~
saraid216
Price gouging _is_ supply and demand. It's just supply and demand in ways that
seem particularly unfair, like withholding food to make a profit.

Whether or not you call it gouging mostly has to do with how essential a
service you consider transportation to be.

~~~
jseliger
_Price gouging is supply and demand. It 's just supply and demand in ways that
seem particularly unfair, like withholding food to make a profit._

As noted elsewhere in this thread, the alternative is a shortage—that is, not
being able to acquire it for _any_ price. Wanting to make a good or service
unavailable to anyone at any price is... odd.

See
[http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2007/01/munger_on_price_1.h...](http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2007/01/munger_on_price_1.html)
for more.

~~~
Philadelphia
A shortage for everybody is more fair than a shortage just for those who
aren't able to pay.

~~~
natrius
Surge pricing lures more drivers to the road because of the extra profit. More
passengers are moved with surge pricing than without it. You're saying that
it's more "fair" for fewer people to get the rides they want?

Laws against price gouging are almost always against the public interest.

~~~
jacalata
Is there evidence for this actually happening, or is it still just a
hypothesis? I don't remember seeing any evidence for "more drivers drove
during the storm/on NYE than would have without increasing prices" the last
few times it came up.

