
 The Hidden Cost of Cabs - wglb
http://blog.uber.com/2011/04/11/uberdata-the-hidden-cost-of-cabs/
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jaysonelliot
Sorry, I like Uber, but this is a very long-winded and self-serving
advertorial for Uber that essentially boils down to just two sentences:

If you live somewhere that it's hard to hail a cab, Uber cars get there more
quickly. They cost more per ride, but it's worth it if you measure time in
dollars per minute.

I didn't really see any "hidden cost" there except for the "time is money"
argument. By that measure, I could include the hidden cost of going to places
with long lines, talking to long-winded people, or anything else.

Uber has a nice service, and I've used them here in New York when cabs are
changing shifts and scarce, and I have to be somewhere _right now_. They are
much, much more expensive than cabs, and even more expensive than a call-ahead
car service. That's why I only use them in very specific situations. They're
convenient and expensive. That's okay. But a lot of charts and hundreds of
words to say "time is money" is a rather ironic way to spend one's time.

~~~
crcastle
I recently took a car service (arranged by hotel) from southern midtown to
JFK. After the extra fees for credit card, toll, and 15% tip, it cost $85,
which is the same price as Uber for this trip.

Maybe this was an anomaly, but I told myself I'd use Uber next time.

~~~
jaysonelliot
Just a tip from a NY'er, call Good Luck car service. They take me regularly
from SoHo to JFK for $40 all in (not including tip), and I get great drivers
every time.

~~~
crcastle
Thanks for the tip. I'll look them up next time I'm in NYC.

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untog
Time is money, I get it.

But this article is about San Francisco only. 72% of cabs never show up?
Sounds like you guys have a truly awful cab system. Thankfully for people in
New York, London, Paris and other Uber markets, that isn't the case.

My personal gripe with Uber: I have no idea how much my journey will cost. I
assumed that the app would give me an estimate, or even explain pricing, but
it doesn't. The only option I had was to request an Uber cab to take me on a
mystery ride to my destination and ding my credit card afterwards. No thank
you. (Ironically, I imagine that the product works great for people like VCs)

It's weird that a company spends so much time talking about the complex math
behind their product but don't use it to provide the simple figures that
matter to customers.

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sardonicbryan
Anecdotally, I absolutely believe their stat about cab show rates. I went out
in the city a lot when I lived there, and on Friday/Saturday nights around
dinner time, your odds of getting a cab felt much worse than 50% -- it was
always a surprise when you did get one. Late at night, after the clubs close
at around 2am? Forget about it, I don't think I've ever gotten a cab at that
time without waiting like an hour.

In that context, I've found Uber pretty useful. One thing to recognize is that
I hardly ever rode Uber alone -- defraying the cost over 3-4 people makes it
significantly more economical.

I agree that this is a sad state of affairs for SF cabs -- having grown up in
Taipei, I'm used to being able to get a cab pretty much any time, any place.

~~~
untog
_One thing to recognize is that I hardly ever rode Uber alone -- defraying the
cost over 3-4 people makes it significantly more economical._

That's interesting. I'm a little unsure about all the taxi cab rideshare apps
that are popping up these days because they do ignore a safety concern- I made
a taxi tracking app a little while back (bias alert!) and some of the
strongest feedback I got was from people (particularly women) travelling late
at night that wanted to make sure someone close knew where they were at all
times. Adding a stranger to the taxi cab is not too tempting, in that context.

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uptown
"Yes, Uber may cost more."

Uber is many many many multiples more expensive than a cab. There's no "may"
about it. The one time I tried them, a 5.2 mile trip cost $46.70. That was
without their surge pricing which could have doubled my 5.2 mile trip as high
as $93.40.

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bri3d
This entire article is utterly ridiculous for a so-called "data-driven"
company to put anywhere, even their blog.

The PC+N data analysis they use is flawed by an analytical issue Uber never
bother to mention: the PC+N "no-show" rates _include_ when the customer is
told there's no car available to dispatch. [0] Not only do Uber not include
this data in their figures - they really can't, as their app doesn't allow a
car to be requested if none is available for the current location.

Uber link to the Goldman School of Public Policy analysis of the PC+N data
only in random parenthetical in the middle of the article, with a disclaimer
that Uber use the PC+N analysis for the "irony." That doesn't sound very
"data-driven" to me.

[0]: <http://www.taxi-library.org/goldman-dispatch-2007.pdf>

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casca
TL;DR: time = money.

Waiting for a cab costs time. Therefor waiting for a cab costs money. Uber
takes the money and gives you time.

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JoachimSchipper
Are SF cabs really _that_ bad? With 72% (!) of cabs just not showing up at all
on weekend nights?

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Zhenya
The Hidden cost of a Cabs = Time is money.

Next article:

The hidden costs of long-winded blogertisments?

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waterlesscloud
Logo links to blog home, not .com home. Sigh.

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zby
What is Uber?

