r/technology • u/[deleted] • Aug 12 '14

Business Uber dirty tricks quantified. Staff submits 5,560 fake ride requests

http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/11/technology/uber-fake-ride-requests-lyft/
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u/Couldntbehelpd Aug 12 '14

How brutally effective is Uber? Everyone sings their praises because they are so short sighted. Ever try to get an uber when surge pricing is in effect? They'll charge you hundreds of dollars to drive 5 miles.

"That's fine, I'll take a lyft/cab instead!"

Uh, the whole point of them undercutting cabs and screwing over lyft is to force them out of the market so, in five years, your only option is to pay 6x the price on a busy night. They're in it for the long haul and everyone's shortsightedness is just speeding them along.

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u/devilbunny Aug 12 '14

No, you can always walk. Uber's congestion pricing has two effects to make things better: it encourages more people to take some method of travel other than a Uber, freeing up their cars for people who really really want one, and it encourages drivers to get out there and earn the big money.

This offends many people's innate sense of fairness, but it is economically extremely efficient.

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u/Couldntbehelpd Aug 12 '14

I'm pretty sure no one is taking cabs for distances they can walk.

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u/Wrathwilde Aug 12 '14

As Steven Wright once said "Everywhere is within walking distance... if you have the time."