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A comment on Uber Plans Millions in Back Pay After Shortchanging NYC Drivers. Parent comment

Re:Uber Plans Millions in Back Pay After Shortchanging NYC D... by ehsankia on Tuesday May 23, 2017 @04:56PM (#14405255)
Right, when we say Uber is better than Taxis, we generally mean "the Uber model is better than Taxis". We can exchange Uber with Lyft or any other company that works with thath model. It's about the general environment that ride sharing brings.

Things like how using an app makes hailing a ride easier, how having a rating system forces drivers and riders to behave better, how mobile payment removes the awkwardness of exchanging money, etc.

There's nothing specific to Uber in there, and when it does come to specifics, Uber is pretty awful as we've seen.

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Re:Uber Plans Millions in Back Pay After Shortchanging NYC D... by semi-extrinsic on Tuesday May 23, 2017 @06:06PM (#14405784)
> There's nothing specific to Uber in there

Even further, there's nothing specific to the Uber model in there. Every one of those things could be implemented exactly the same way by an ordinary cab company. In fact, many cab companies worldwide have already implemented both the first and the third one.

The only unique thing about the Uber model as opposed to regular cabs is that it's priced lower through a combination of semi-illegal dirty tricks and setting unsustainably low (or negative) margins in order to maintain growth and capture the market.

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Re:Uber Plans Millions in Back Pay After Shortchanging NYC D... by creepydata on Tuesday May 23, 2017 @06:57PM (#14406137)
The good thing about Uber is that I can get an Uber no matter where in the world I am (assuming that town has Uber). I don't have to know what cab companies are around or what apps I have to download.
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Re:Uber Plans Millions in Back Pay After Shortchanging NYC D... by TeMPOraL on Tuesday May 23, 2017 @07:11PM (#14406250)
That's about the only thing that's actually good about Uber. But even then, Europe has at least two competing taxi aggregator apps now, so this advantage is bound to disappear.
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