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Comment by tristanj | Hacker News Reader

Makes sense, Uber's 30-50% cut is far too much. How can they compete with inDrive which only takes 10%. And on inDrive you set your own fare.

Rides are 20-40% cheaper elsewhere, why would anyone pay extra for Uber?

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I would pay extra because I don't want the cognitive load of haggling on the cost. When I want/need A ride, it's because I'm either overloaded, away from home, or drunk. These are three times that I didn't want to bother with any more nonsense.

Having used it in Mexico, they usually have a suggested price that you can just pitch with, and usually people would accept that or add a tiny amount on it.

Its not that much. And you can just bypass it by accepting the first offer you get

In a system where you are expected to haggle taking the opening price puts a pretty heavy tax on everything. It's more work to get to a vaguely similar equilibrium distributed slightly less evenly when you look at big markets for similar things.

In a system where fees reach 50%, you are starting with a heavy tax no matter the starting price.

haggling when drunk is super fun

but haggling with drunks is not

I’d sooner drink with hags.

However, wouldn’t you want to be able to set a higher price is someone is obviously drunk (in a bad way).

your uber driver better not be drunk, so that's not a passenger problem, but only a driver problem

Also Hegel enjoyed a drink!

and Aristotle

One anecdote for a datapoint: Not sure if it's better now but I've lost a phone in an InDrive and I've lost an expensive bag in an Uber and it was significantly easier and less sketchy to get the bag back. I'm not a price sensitive rider so the insurance of a reputable 'comfort' tier Uber driver paid off. The InDrive driver made me get another ride to him then demanded $1000mxn (~$55usd) to return my phone. The Uber app had me pay ~$250mxn if I remember correctly and the driver promptly returned the bag.

I have a controversial take: outside the US/Europe, Uber is mostly a tourist app.

If you actually live in developing regions:

1) your income is much lower, and you are quite price sensitive. The Uber price premium (20-40%) hits much harder.

2) the Uber alternatives are noticeably cheaper for the exact same trip.

Regarding your experience, if you were local, that inDrive driver likely would not have tried to extort $1000 MXN out of you. They saw you were a visitor and took advantage of you.

In Nigeria or Uganda there are few tourists, so Uber cannot rely on a stream of price-insensitive travelers to fill their cars. It makes total sense why they struggled in (and gave up on) the local market there.

My experience in Brazil: Uber is way cheaper here. Compared to what I paid in San Francisco, I'd estimate a ~10x difference. And things here are rarely 10x cheaper. The difference in restaurants is probably less than ~2x.

My point being it probably feels like less of a luxury for us than for people in the US.

I'd say it's probably the most popular app too. I've never met people who used others.

99 is quite popular in Brazil, and is often cheaper, but Uber does seem ubiquitous there and is the leader.

This was my experience using Uber in India many years ago. Rides around Hyderabad were like $2 USD.

Uber isn't cheaper in India, but most people in urban areas prefer taking it over local alternatives or taxis. The cars are actually regular taxis, but the Uber tax is worth it over taxis for the convenience and potential safety/driver verification.

Uber in Ghana has fares that are not much higher than the others. In fact, many times Uber is cheaper. Not sure about Nigeria or Uganda though.

And they even have a motorcycle ride option that is even cheaper.

And, although Uber Ghana was noticeably more professional when they started, they have relaxed their standards so much in recent years. They are still a tad better than the others, but many drives flit between them and other ride-share companies. A driver does not suddenly become better because they happen to be driving for Uber, although I concede they might u their game based on what is expected of them.

In Kenya it’s not just a tourist app. Very popular and well priced here.

Your take isn't controversial, it's just wrong. And you seem to be implying everywhere outside of USA and Europe is a developing region?

You claim it's wrong, yet don't bother to justify your position at all.

I've ridden on Uber, Lyft, Bolt, Grab, inDrive, Careem, Yandex Go, Gojek, DiDi, Kakao T; and in my experience, outside the US/Europe (plus a few others), Uber is mostly for tourists. The alternatives are cheaper.

> implying everywhere outside of USA and Europe is a developing region

I'm not doing so at all. Those are separate sentences.

FYI the ones you named include ones priced exactly the same as Uber. Uber doesn't take the same cut in every country.

I'm fully aware that Lyft, Careem, and Kakao T are on my list. But that doesn't change the fact that in every region I've been to, Uber is always the most expensive option. Or it's tied for the highest price, in duopoly markets like the US/Canada.

The competitors inDrive, Bolt, or Yango almost always beat Uber on price.

This too isn't true. Most of the services you listed only operate in one (or at most a small few) countries. I know for a fact that in some of them, Uber is not the highest price. Instead, in some of them, Uber and the ones you listed are tied for the lowest price, with other local apps being more expensive.

You're misinforming here, giving bold statements based on not spending enough time in some of these countries, not knowing the local market well enough.

Lol even after 6 days you haven't posted any supporting information, so who's misinforming here? :)

I now did, so they were. Sue me for having a semblance of a life outside of HN.

Too late for that!

You didn't actually name any of the countries or local apps you're referring to. What are they?

Lyft, DiDi, Bolt difference is about 0 in most locales. KakaoT is by definition 0. Your list is wildly outdated in the first place because half of them don't have Uber as competitor anymore because it left the market.

In the above cases where the difference is about 0, both Uber and the other app are generally the cheapest ones on the market. There tend to be other slightly more upmarket apps that cost more but get you a nicer car/service. Cabify, IM. Waymo is moving into this. Obviously I'm not super familiar with every single market but clearly neither are you, and I know the above ones.

Could simply be because it’s a phone which nowadays is a considered bigger loss than a bag means bigger chance of extorting money to give it back.

People like the knowledge that they are not being ripped off by the person they are interacting with. On Uber you are essentially guaranteed that you are paying the absolute max that you would accept algorithmically, and the driver is getting the absolute least they would accept to drive for. If the balance shifts in any way, someone is ripping off the person they will interact with.

Since the customer knows less about how much things should cost, they are more likely to be ripped off. People pay a 30% premium to ensure that they dont feel ripped off alone.

While I agree, Uber's cut has reached predatory levels. They take 50% of the fare in some markets. They're significantly overcharging riders and underpaying drivers. https://len-sherman.medium.com/ubers-long-and-winding-road-t...

That's the whole goal with the pricing model. Its not predatory because the customer is still paying for it. There is a choice to not pay and use a different service. If there are reasons to not do so, we are not at the predatory levels yet.

That means Uber is screwing the driver and customer the algorithmically maximum amount. It should be less, and it should be in the driver's favor. They should be able to afford a decent living.

Well not really, if they were screwing people to the maximum people would be ordering cabs instead, the goal is to screw them for the maximal amount that they feel like they can to accept in the market that exists. Cabs might still screw you for more which is out of your control, so you don't take them.

Man in some of the shitty countries I've had the misfortune of living in, taxi drivers were outright predatory and sometimes downright hostile. Uber was a godsend in such environments.

Insurance goes up. Who knows how much liability they need to cover transportation. They likely deal with claims of being kidnapped or held hostage by driver on a regular basis.

Can't speak for InDrive's safety rating, but I would pay 30-50% more for Uber's safety tech (on a $5 ride) than a company with less funding.

(I'm ex-Grab).

30% is fair. Don’t like it start a cab company

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