

Cab Drivers, Uber, and the Costs of Racism - jellywish
http://www.racialicious.com/2012/11/28/cab-drivers-uber-and-the-costs-of-racism/

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nsxwolf
Uber drivers aren't afraid to pick you up because you have a lot of money and
a smartphone. It's a signal that you're a young black hipster and not a gang
banger.

It's still racist. It just shifts the outcome in your favor.

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jack-r-abbit
uh... gang bangers have money and smart phones too. They used to rob people
for $200 Air Jordans. Now it is for iPhones. Maybe you were confusing "gang
banger" with "poor".

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bps4484
To use Uber I think you have to give a credit card. I think this is be biggest
deterrent to breaking any laws: they already know who you are and if you
commit a crime they can find you. I suppose a gang banger could use a fake
credit card to set up an account just to then get a cab and rob them, but that
creates a big hurdle that I think will eliminate lots of crime.

~~~
jack-r-abbit
That is different then. The parent comment was about money and a smart phone
being enough to remove the possibility of picking up a gang banger. Having a
credit card on file is a whole different thing.

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greenrider
Disclaimer: I work for Uber.

Thought it might be worth mentioning that you can actually use Uber to hail a
regular taxi in a bunch of cities, including SF, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto.
You do have to pay a guaranteed tip (which incentivizes the taxi drivers to
take Uber dispatches), but in return you get the same race-blind properties of
Uber at regular cab rates. Plus no dealing with "broken" credit card
terminals...

And yes, obviously there is still inherent socioeconomic filtering that
happens when you ask someone to use an expensive smartphone to hail a cab, but
the phones will get cheaper, the apps will get better, and hopefully the level
of accountability in the transportation ecosystem will continue to increase
over time.

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mileswu
There's still racial inequality if you have to pay extra (to use Uber) to get
a similar service that other races can get cheaper (normal cab).

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fusiongyro
The article didn't say that Uber is making normal cabs unracist, just that
Uber itself can't be racist, and that this gives Uber yet another market edge
over normal cabs.

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_delirium
I can buy that to _some_ extent, but it seems fairly common among luxury
businesses: wealthy black businessmen are in many situations treated as just a
"wealthy person" regardless of their race, so are insulated from many of the
problems faced by the majority of non-wealthy blacks. I.e. their wealth is the
most salient demographic lens people view them through. Hence why Herman Cain
can claim (and might honestly believe) that racism is no longer holding anyone
back.

~~~
fusiongyro
I don't know anything about cabs, but the article makes it sound to me like
we're talking about a $5 difference here. If you can afford $20 on a cab ride
you can probably afford $25. We're not talking about the difference between
millionaires and people living below the poverty line.

Class discrimination isn't great, but it's certainly better than race
discrimination, insofar as it is possible to change your class (however
difficult that may be) and not your race. It's a step.

~~~
jack-r-abbit
And on that note, is it even class discrimination to sell a product/service
that not _everyone_ can afford? It sounds to me that Uber offers some extra
value/convenience (for every customer) that traditional cabs don't and that
will cost you a little extra.

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cathyreisenwitz
LOVED this. Markets FTW.

