Originally Posted by
Adelphos
Uber has since slashed rates to ward off competition and to attract new customers in kind of a bait and switch play.
Taken in a vacuum, my hypothesis would be that drivers would stop making cars available, and the surge pricing would kick in more often. I don't know if this actually happened or not...I seem to recall Uber flooding the market with coupons/promos for about a year, and I guess I assumed the drivers were still getting paid even if I rode for "free" thanks to a promo.
If Uber really wanted to help its drivers, it would reduce its own take rate on a fare and reallocate that money towards gratuities to drivers.
My hope is that a strong Lyft presence would help moderate the take rate of both platforms. Seems like in a lot of cities, Uber is the only game in town, so they can push the envelope on their cut vs. willingness of drivers to log in.
Tipping, and stereotypes about tipping, can lead to all sorts of discriminatory behavior on the parts of passengers and drivers based on all sorts of categories (race, sexual orientation, origin neighborhood, destination neighborhood, style of clothing, whatever). Uber as a service helped get rid of a lot of this. Introducing tipping, especially a cash only system, may reintroduce these biases.
Completely agree. It was a great thing about Uber, and I imagine even better for people who have historically been discriminated against by taxis.
Originally Posted by
davie355
That said, I'll now surmise a chain of causality based my experience with Sidecar. I found nearly all drivers asked for above-market rates, thus failed to attract customers and ultimately quit the service. I spent the summer of 2014 commuting in various U.S. cities exclusively via rideshare apps. I'd compare Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar, and always pick the cheapest option. I took over 100 trips, of which exactly 2 were through Sidecar.
I've heard of Sidecar but never used it. I wonder if drivers were using it as a way to pick up lucrative rides during predictable Uber surge periods? Hence the high rates...
Anyway, it sounds like a more complicated platform for the rider...I have to look at the individual cars near me and click on their rates?? Uber and Lyft both are very easy-to-use apps.