this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2023
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[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago (7 children)

Lyft/Uber. They had a strategy of eliminating their taxi company competition by flooding the market with such low fares that the taxis couldn't compete. That said, the taxi companies had a miserable reputation in many cities. They often came late or not at all, they usually required a phone call to dispatch, and they were quite expensive. But still, the tactics Lyft and Uber used to gain market dominance was dirty and monopolistic.

The flip side of this is that I can avoid the trap of car ownership, with all of its problems and expenses.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

That's true.

Lyft and Uber are taking advantage of both:

  • the drivers (who are sub-contracted, legally-unassisted, and underpaid)
  • and the passengers (surge pricing).

Even worse - those companies SEEK to replace drivers with self-driving vehicles. They will terminate their entire sub-contracted workforce (the drivers... the people who do the actual work), without obligation.

This has been their goal from the start.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

I guess I'm more concerned about the short term well being of the drivers than anything else. Surge pricing at least has a purpose, to attract drivers to an area. And with self-driving cars, I like the idea of using them as a solution to the last mile problem in transit.

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