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by 8ytecoder 2480 days ago
In fact, I'd argue that's the primary reason why Uber/Lyft got popular in the first place. At least for me that's the only reason I use Uber. If they are, as they claim, just a lead-gen platform, I'd rather call a taxi. At least taxis are legally bound to provide me a certain level of service. If Uber can't enforce something similar, why should I use Uber?
2 comments
seanmcdirmid 2480 days ago
> At least for me that's the only reason I use Uber. If they are, as they claim, just a lead-gen platform, I'd rather call a taxi. At least taxis are legally bound to provide me a certain level of service.

Most of us don’t have such great experiences with taxis as you do. “Legally bound” still leaves a lot of wiggle room for really crappy experiences.

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SomeOldThrow 2479 days ago
> Most of us don’t have such great experiences with taxis as you do.

What kind of negative experiences did you have with taxis that you didn’t get with the ride hailing apps?

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seanmcdirmid 2479 days ago
The usual: being taken for a ride (literally), not showing up for a pickup, broken credit card readers. American taxis are just horrid. Not as bad as SE Asia, but nowhere near Europe or other developed country standards.
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xmprt 2479 days ago
Not to mention that it's much harder to enforce something that's legally bound. If they give you a crappy experience, the only way you can do anything about it is by reporting it to the government (suing them?) which is usually a painful process. And if your case is even heard, you'll need evidence proving it.
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JetSpiegel 2479 days ago
As opposed to the unregulated jungle of Uber, where you can legally pound sand. How is the unregulated market better?
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pishpash 2480 days ago
Because rideshare carefully uses economic incentives to generate outcomes by market means, not by "enforcing" through the heavy hand that only the government understands.
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SomeOldThrow 2479 days ago
A) it’s not clear the outcomes are desirable in the first place and b) why are market means better? The market is good at deriving efficient prices in certain circumstances but it really depends on whether the desired outcome aligns with efficient pricing. Personally the problem Uber solves is a nice app to hail the taxi with, which doesn’t appear to have anything to do with market effects, whereas the material effects of Uber mostly seem to be exploitation of employees.
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