MSPeconomist

I'm inclined to vote no for many of the reasons given in this thread. IMO the motion isn't well thought out in terms of either its scope (Uber-like services only or include other close substitutes?) or where such forum should be located on FT. If location-specific information continues to reside, as I believe it should, in the destination fora, I'm not convinced that a general Uber forum will have sufficient traffic--especially if people can't find it intuitively.

CMK10

If that was the case I wish you would have said something during the last month when we were crafting the motion. We kept waiting for more input and it would have been very nice to have heard your suggestions then.

Canarsie

I do not disagree with you; and I certainly would not want to support a motion that condones illegal activity...

...but there are two things to keep in mind:

1. I have already posted that I knew little about services offered by such entities as Uber and Lyft; and that I have never used those services
   Quote:

   Originally Posted by Canarsie

   Despite the fact that I have never used their services, this is not about me.
2. This issue of illegal activity was not brought to my attention until you posted in this discussion

Regardless, I still voted no on the motion; so the point became moot with me anyway...

MSPeconomist

I did question what the scope should be: national car services such as Carey, SuperShuttle, rental car companies where you get a car and driver, etc. I don't recall the early discussion being very specific about where the proposed forum would be placed in FT. I still don't see anything in the motion about what is to be done with existing threads about Uber in destination fora such as China.

JDiver

To add grist to the mill, when traveling I sometimes use private driver services such as those offered by Wayan Suetayasa in Bali, of http://www.hiddenbali.com, Filippo Biasini of http://www.rome-tours.org in Rome, both private, licensed individuals / sole proprietorships.

In London, I've used "minicab" services from companies. In New Zealand, the driving services provided by Lode and Sandi Notredame of http://www.amazingnz.com.

Where would these fit in?

jason8612

I voted yes, and here is why:
There are so many apps, tips, and tricks for transport out there that it's just not convenient to place these in the destination forums. For instance, there is a app which I found out by mistake (not on FT where it should be) called taxify. It's a uber-like app which works in 11 cities (10 in Europe, one in South Africa). I used the app to get around Vilnius, and instead of haggling everywhere, dealing with weird meters, the app allowed me to grab a cab without any issues and I had a choice of paying by car or by card.
Another app that I used in Vilnius is etaksi which works across Lithuania and I can select which cab companies I want to use. It's similar to taxify but it's mainly cash based. In Poland, there are some android apps like zlap-taxi which allows you to pick a city and it lists all the cab companies, their numbers, and rates. Some apps go across countries like Uber. Having this info in one location I think is easier then digging thru the destination forums (which doesn't seem to have this info to begin with).

exilencfc

The information desk forum exists to send questions to the place where they stand most chance of being answered, i'm suggesting we should have a system for sending specific people to answer particular questions.

That is a good point but I think that is information that would add value to the destination forums rather than being better placed in it's own forum. For me destination forums are the obvious place to look for information of any type regarding a particular city.

Also, given that threads regarding specific cities are kicked out of DiningBuzz, surely it is illogical to create another forum devoted to a general subject which sucks in threads related to specific cities.

CMK10

I think that's a good point when the city you're dealing with is New York, but have you seen some of the other destination forums? South, Midwest etc. are really lightly trafficked.

Also, it can be confusing knowing which forum to go to for a city such as Omaha.

exilencfc

That is definitely a good point, I must admit that I focus on the European destination forums which tend towards high traffic levels. But, as I said above, adding information to a destination forum will helpfully help it attract traffic.

kipper

How is it confusing to know to use a destination forum for city-specific information?

Shouldn't TalkBoard be considering how to drive traffic to more lightly used forums, especially if they aren't going to do their annual usage review and consider closing any forums?

wharvey

Admin Question: Was there a site wide announcement of this vote?

wharvey

If we focused on utilizing the Destinations forums properly, it might drive more traffic there. UBER postings in the destination forums can be one way of helping the process. We should find ways to utilize the current structure (if it can work) before worrying about new forums.

nsx

Because the two are often substitutes for each other, and because innovations like Zipcar may blur the lines further. Our forum structure should accommodate technological evolution.

tcook052

I recall seeing senior moderator Prospero post a site-wide announcement presumably on CD's behalf.

Completely agree and always favor trying to use existing forums rather than created ever more.

Canarsie

The vote for this motion was also featured in the latest issue of the TalkMail newsletter.