Uber in New Zealand

[birguslatro]

Like most places, Uber is controversial in NZ. And currently illegal according to the NZ Transport Agency, not to mention banned from airports.

I don't use taxis and so I don't know if local taxi companies already have a decent app, but if not they sure should get one fast. The current NZ government is bound to smile on Uber when they figure out how, since they'll see it as being a tourist-friendly service.

Comments

[matgb]

Yup.

Uber-the-company is evil incarnate and I don't want to give them any business.

Uber-the-product is a well done implementation of an obvious idea that should've been done by private hire firms and black cabs years ago.

When London Black Cabs went on strike over Uber it provided them with a massive publicity boost and a huge increase in customers, the cabbies were really stupid in the way they handled it.

Back when I worked in tourism we had a deal with the largest local taxi firm and I regularly sat in one of their control rooms at the coach station if it was raining, this was back in 2005ish, they had an active map screen displaying to them where all their cars were all the time.

They had the tech to do Uber before Uber did, but it never occurred to them until after a disruptive incomer nearly killed them off.

[birguslatro]

Well, London had Hailo a bit before Uber arrived there. Their model was different though, in that it was an app for taxi companies while Uber allows anyone (more or less) to sign up as a driver. Uber's using a crowd-sourcing model, which can drive down prices, never mind not requiring special taxis and their depots.

The future has to be driverless taxis. The economics of that just can't be ignored. And from the users' POV, one app to call them from wherever in the world they are is also the ideal. So there's a natural network effect happening with the app. I'm sure that's Uber's long-term plan, with their current drivers just being a stepping stone to getting there. They want the network in place for when driverless cars get the green-light.

[birguslatro]

From the latest Tesla Master Plan...

"You will also be able to add your car to the Tesla shared fleet just by tapping a button on the Tesla phone app and have it generate income for you while you're at work or on vacation, significantly offsetting and at times potentially exceeding the monthly loan or lease cost. This dramatically lowers the true cost of ownership to the point where almost anyone could own a Tesla. Since most cars are only in use by their owner for 5% to 10% of the day, the fundamental economic utility of a true self-driving car is likely to be several times that of a car which is not."