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Comment by poetril | Hacker News Reader

I live in a city that has had Waymo's (via Uber) for a while now and I have done a complete 180 on them. Not only are they usually cheaper than a traditional Uber, but they drive far more defensively, and don't come with the social baggage associated with a traditional Uber either (tipping, small talk).

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> Not only are they usually cheaper than a traditional Uber

Enjoy it while it lasts. Uber/Lyft were far cheaper than other options when they launched until they put everything else out of business, then jacked up the price.

That's been my attitude as well. I'm not convinced they'll stay cheaper for long, and when I say "cheaper" its marginal. Cost of the ride is the similar, but it seems there is no tip built into the price yet.

> Uber/Lyft were far cheaper than other options when they launched until they put everything else out of business, then jacked up the price

Source? Particularly inflation adjusted? Uber, specifically, started out as black cars only.

Rides were like $4-7. A ride over $10 was rare.

I took a ride home two nights ago for under $7. On the other hand, I tend to avoid Ubers in New York (versus taxis), but that’s one part local demand and one part local regulation.

Many of my female friends have had bad experiences with ride share drivers, so I think there's a strong market demand.

Its funny because when ride sharing first came out -- everyone had a great experience for the most part (early adopters/risk takers). Then the long tail (and VC growth money disappeared) came around and the pay got worse, job was a grind and the quality tanked.

I don't doubt that we will have the same thing with all these new options. Maybe the social baggage won't be there but there will be weird new things that pop up...

> the long tail (and VC growth money disappeared) came around and the pay got worse, job was a grind and the quality tanked

As well as the prices, wait times and ubiquity.

I’m not saying it’s a panacea. But I don’t think most people want to go back to when Uber was only black cars.

When it first came out you didn't have people working it full time. It would be like dads making side money after the kid was put to bed.

Or just live in a non retarded country where neither tipping nor small talk is expected when you take a fucking taxi. Plus it will probably just cost half or less by itself

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