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Uber is getting more expensive with time as they try to consolidate losses. For my commute to work nowadays Express Pool costs the same as UberX did a year ago. And of course express pool includes overtly long sight seeing detours and dangerous pick up/drop off points. This is getting prohibitively expensive and I plan to switch to an electric scooter + public transit in a few months.



This is a good summary of the VC economy: Use it as long as it is subsidized by VC Money, then switch back to whatever you used before.


Also the part about one VC passing the buck to the next, allowing them all to benefit reputationally from asset inflation - until the bubble pops. Then only the last ones holding the bag lose.

Edit: VC is actually not passing to VC, but larger investment funds like PE.


In the case of unicorns that don't meet expectations, it's usually the employees who were compensated in stock or options left holding the bag, since investors try to lock in preferred payout.


That only works if the VC money runs out before your alternative goes out of business. A company with enough reserves killing local competition by undercuting it so much that everyone trying to compete has to lose money isn't unheard of.


> Express Pool costs the same as UberX did a year ago

This is very unlikely.


I could see it if op is including discounts. Uber and Lyft for me go thru cycles of heavy promos followed by dry spells.


I highly recommmend the electric scooter. So fast and so fun. I got this one:

https://ecorecoscooter.com/product/l5


I had that scooter and used it for my daily commute for a couple of years. The first time I hit a pothole, I shattered my clavicle and had to call an ambulance. The second – and last – time I hit a pothole, I broke my humerus in two places but was was able to take a Lyft to the emergency room. I completely lost the use of my right hand for a couple of months because swelling pinched off the nerves. Extremely inconvenient for someone who works in front of a computer.

I would strongly recommend that you not ride an electric scooter. Consider the diameter of the wheels. If you hit any pothole or rail or anything which has a lip higher than HALF the diameter of that little wheel, you're going to go flying over the handlebars. If you ride it every day for months or years, you're going to crash, no matter how careful you are, at least on SF streets.


I don't understand why you went back to using a scooter, if you were so clearly able to diagnose the dangers, and had one fairly severe injury. Why not switch to a commuter bike (the ~1 ft wheel foldable ones)?

Also, separate question, my understanding is that potholes are mainly formed by freeze/thaw cycles -- weather not typically found in SF. Have you lived in Chicago or NYC? Can you contrast the pothole density between those three cities?


After the first time, I thought it was a one-off and that I could avoid further injury by being more careful. After the second time, I realized that was foolhardy.

Potholes in asphalt can be caused by pressure from tires too. I've never tried biking or scootering in a different city so I can't compare the quantity of potholes.


Or, a bicycle. You can get a good one on craigslist for a hundred bucks if you're patient. You may get a bit sweatier but you'll get an exercise ;)

Or, there's no hills, and you go your own pace, and it's fine.

Having tried both I do feel bicycles are safer - those tiny scooter wheels shake me to pieces.


Another thing I like about bikes is that it can be really therapeutic to perform your own tweaks, maintenance and repairs. Yesterday fitted new break pads and it’s such a pleasure to ride and is satisfying as hell.


If it stops raining sometimes in the next year or two I'll give it a try!


Hah, we're opposites. I always get frustrated trying to do it the right way and end up hacking it together shittily


I built an electric bike from an inexpensive normal bike + Bafang motor. Total cost <$1000. I have never been happier with a vehicle. This is really the best of all worlds.


Oh snap, got a blog post or anything? Would love to kick a motor on to help on the incline home.


There are a million tutorials online, just google "bafang tutorial"; I found this video informative https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf6BMf28ats but again, there are many many others.

One point important mentioning though is that once you put a motor on the bike you kind of have to use it all the time, because 1/ you lose the front derailleur, 2/ motor + battery weight around 6-8 kg, and 3/ the engine is always engaged.

It's possible to use the bike with zero assistance, on flat ground, if you need it (for example if the battery dies), but it's not something you want to do all the time.

So, it's not really a sport anymore. Yet it's extremely pleasant.

Also: you can buy Bafang motors on Aliexpress or Alibaba; I find sellers on Alibaba much more professional, and most will agree to sell just one item.


> the engine is always engaged

This isn't true, I misspoke. The engine isn't always engaged, it has a freewheel mechanism, but it's not as smooth and friction free than if there was no motor.

The usability of the bike with the motor off rests on the size of the plate you choose; if you want to be able to ride the bike easily without the motor you should select a small plate (<=42T probably).


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Haha. Just to offer some more insight, I started taking Uber everyday because it was cheaper than car ownership and I am happy with that decision so far. However, now the math has changed and therefore I am considering other options. My job has decent pay to be honest. Most of my colleagues drive a Tesla for example. But, I am trying out the whole FIRE thing and not escalating my lifestyle unnecessarily.


I would normally agree but the difference could be around $5 each way for 250 work days a year. A few thousand dollars a year is quite a lot.


Cars cost more than that. If I had a choice between a second commuter car or $200/month of ubering, the ubering would be cheaper. Car ownership in the bay is something like this:

* $100-500/month car payment or depreciation

* +$100/month in gas

* $60-120/month in insurance

* $100/month in amortized maintenance costs

= $360/month minimum base cost

And if you work/live in SF or need to go over the bridge:

* $100-200/month in parking space rent

* $100/month in toll bridge costs

Plus adhoc parking costs as you use your car.


Wow. My costs: 300€/month payment which includes insurance. 60-80€ a month for gas. And mind you it’s expensive there ~1.2€/liter ~30€/month mainatence. 2/3 of it comes down to change and storage of winter/summer tires (winter tires are mandatory).


I said amortized maintenance, so when you have to replace that $300 part and pay $100-$300 in labor to do it, that is part of the bill spread over a year. To me repairs are an inevitable part of car ownership, so I put in the maintenance category. Not just replace your oil and swap your tires type maintenance. Maybe a year or two you'll have no repairs, then get a $1500 repair bill because a water pump broke, and some asshole who breaks your car window to steal nothing, leading to $2000 of 'surprise' repair costs that year.

Also if you buy a used car for $15k, then sell it 5 years later for $9k, that is equivalent to a $100/month car payment, which I call car depreciation.


My numbers do include repairs, which was 0 euros. I also have an insurance which would cover asshole scenario.


If you are regularly commuting via Uber you are doing a lot of things wrong.


Why? If it’s an alternative to owning and parking a car in a city, it seems like something that could be a rational decision especially in the absence of good transit options.


In any city where the economics of car vs uber work out in favor of uber, then necessarily the economics of train + bus vs uber work out in favor of train + bus.


That’s clearly false unless you value your time at $0


Bus + train is much faster than Uber, for example in NY. You’d take an Uber in order to have the luxury of riding alone or with a small group instead of a crowd, or because you have a large suitcase, but absolutely not because it’s faster. This is no different than the same tradeoff for taxis.

And the context of this subthread is about Uber as a full solution for commuting. So my original claim still holds. If things like always riding alone or always transporting luggage are impacting your daily commute decision and making you believe that paying the premium for Uber is cost effective, then necessarily it’s even more cost effective for you to buy and maintain your own car, and satisfy those unusual commute preferences in a way that amortizes the costs of operating your own car even in a dense urban area.


Disabled people who are unable to operate a vehicle need to work too. Sometimes jobs are too far for public transportation to be an option. What should they do instead?


? Been doing it for years


It's perfectly okay to tell someone to buy a cheaper car or one that's better on gas. Car owners spend thousands more than they need to commute to work.


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Seriously? I’d argue that kicking a $5 per day Starbucks habit is hardly a sign that you need to make a career change. It seems a lot closer to plugging a mindless money leak if it’s just something you do by default.


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It’s not about some random $5 charges. It’s about money spending habits that, to use the current meme, don’t bring you joy and collectively can add up to a considerable amount of money.


What do you mean by this?

Any charges made against any payment card or account that you don’t recognise should be swiftly investigated.

If a bad actor charges a bunch of cards a few dollars each, and some portion of them don’t investigate / dispute the charge that could net them quite a sum.


A comment like this reflects being part of the privileged 10%, probably even more like top 1-2%. Many are not that privileged and will never have the opportunity or chances to reach that. In the grand scheme of things it's more like luck, then anything else.

It reflects how distant some are from reality of majority of people. 5 * 2 * 5 * 4=200. For many 200 dollars per month can be a quite significant cut in their paycheck. Recurring and continuous costs like these are exactly what makes the difference


This is where you are wrong.

Anyone in the western world workforce has the opportunity or chances to change that. This is not a privilege. And certainly not luck.

I agree that for many, $200 a month is significant. That's why I'm saying - don't try to save $5, try to MAKE $5 (and much more).

There are so many ways to make money these days, you don't even need "proper" education, luck, access, none of that.

But you do need mindset and will. Most people choose to be complacent. Their mind doesn't see beyond the 9-5, beyond the concept of being a mere employee. They rather spend hours per day watching dumb Netflix content, Twitch crap, gaming, whatever it is that people do other than GROW. Just about anyone can spend a few days watching Youtube and teaching themselves the ins and outs of such things as Facebook ads, Shopify, Dropshipping, Social media management, and of course... Clickfunnels. Anyone can pick this up. You don't need to be a PhD or CS major. In fact, those are often times a hindrance. IF people only spent half the time they waste on Twitch with consuming actual knowledge - they would not care if a Starbucks cup was $5, or $50.


> dangerous pick up/drop off points

Dangerous in what way? By what measure?

> public transit

How does the previous danger measurement compare to your average ride on public transit?


I have had pick up points on ramps of highways which I am describing as dangerous. As you can see this is not a danger I would face on public transit.




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