Re:How Uber Used Secret “Greyball” Tool to Deceive Authoriti...
by danielweber on Friday March 03, 2017 @05:00PM
(#13787162)
Uber isn't a monopoly. For all the scummy things that Uber has done, they have avoided the most scummy thing they could do to become a monopoly: driver lock-in, making their drivers commit to only drive for them and not for Lyft.
Susan Fowler's post has me pretty fed up with Uber, but for some reason greyballing doesn't bother me at all.
Re:How Uber Used Secret “Greyball” Tool to Deceive Authoriti...
by exolymph on Friday March 03, 2017 @05:21PM
(#13787385)
> they have avoided the most scummy thing they could do to become a monopoly: driver lock-in, making their drivers commit to only drive for them and not for Lyft.
Arguably the only reason why is because it would mean they'd have to classify the drivers as employees rather than contractors.
Re:How Uber Used Secret “Greyball” Tool to Deceive Authoriti...
by usrusr on Saturday March 04, 2017 @03:56AM
(#13790039)
Look up "uber driver incentives". They are clearly working on it, just without going all "second commandment" to protect their "not an employer" status.
Re:How Uber Used Secret “Greyball” Tool to Deceive Authoriti...
by dragonwriter on Friday March 03, 2017 @05:11PM
(#13787300)
> Uber isn't a monopoly.
Like every startup (and most companies), it aims to be; a moat is pricing power is an absence of substitute is monopoly.
Re:How Uber Used Secret “Greyball” Tool to Deceive Authoriti...
by danielweber on Friday March 03, 2017 @05:29PM
(#13787450)
Sure, they want to be a monopoly. But they're not.
Seriously, how do they get lock-in of riders or drivers? Installing a second app is a really really low bar. You can't do predatory pricing forever.
You can, but if that decision is not sufficiently common in your area, and you don't have sufficient resources to relocate before the problem becomes acute, you may find your practical choices constrained in such a way that you are left with no realistic choice for necessary functions but to use Uber.
> What can I do if I don't like the service a state provides - can I opt out and stop paying?
You can (and history has lots of examples of people doing just that), but if that decision is not sufficiently popular in your area... well, the same as for Uber, above. The particular manner in which the lack of options, may, depending on the particular state and the particular service involved, be more dramatic than the case with most corporate goods or services. OTOH, depending on the particular state and service, you may have a lot more direct input into the decision making behind providing the service and how the state reacts to opting out, in the first place.