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Comment by ravenkat | Hacker News Reader

This is really interesting. I believe this might be attribute to all the Uber promotions in Asia. I have heard from all my friends in India/China that Uber rides are actually free for around 10-15 rides. Also, they are giving tons of money to Drivers to promote Uber in India.

An average Uber driver in Bangalore earns 110000 INR per month where as an entry level software engineer in GOOG/AMZN in India earns 80000 INR/month.

I was shocked that one of my friends who drove Uber in Bangalore told me that he made 180000 INR two months back.

It would be interesting to know Uber's customer acquistion cost and driver acquisition cost.

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I'm still surprised that Uber is entering such competitive markets. I mean, in much of the western world, they're using a mobile app to side step cab hailing laws and break long standing taxi oligopolies. Does anyone know what market flaws they're solving in India and Asia?

The same is true in New Zealand, where the only real requirements to be a taxi are around having a passenger endorsement to your license and police background checks.

> Does anyone know what market flaws they're solving in India and Asia?

Well the only market flaw they appear to be solving here is that they aren't hoarding more of the money in the market...

In NZ the advantage is convenience and cost - you can get a ride far faster, payment is automatic, and the rates are lower, especially for shorter trips, than the incumbent taxi companies.

Some of the local competitors have some of that (e.g. Zoomy), but they charge extra fees for paying though the app which makes them expensive, and also means you need to go through more of a process when the ride is finished.

I don't like how uber flaunts the law in so many places, but their competitive advantage doesn't come from non-compliance.

The service is plainly better. The cars are better, the drivers are rated, payment is easier, hailing is easier, knowing where your cab is and how long it will be and how much is will cost before you start your ride ... is better.

I live in the Twin Cities ... not a place where cabs are dense enough to just hail one walking down the street (unless it's in a prime drinking/sporting hour & location).

Uber, Lyft, and the city of Minneapolis worked together to make uber-like services legal while giving concessions to the local traditional taxi drivers without compromising appropriate regulations. Everyone behaved reasonably which is sadly extremely rare everywhere else.

The running theory is that unreasonable people either leave Minnesota or are found only after the snow thaws (please don't take this too seriously :) )

If flaunting the law results in an all round better service perhaps the laws don't do what they're supposed to.

There is a difference between trying to behave reasonably outside the law starting up while trying fix regulations fairly and in good faith when you get enough attention ... and ostentatious defiance, which is how many would describe Uber's behavior in many circumstances.

'flaunting' was a carefully chosen word.

There is no behaving 'reasonably' outside the law. It's clear that if they had not won over the consumers, the people who the law is supposed to help, Uber would not exist.

When I went to Delhi, I had to haggle with the tuk tuk driver. In some cities in China, there seemed to be the impression that some taxies were not trustworthy and some people only ride from particular taxi companies. Uber was not in China or India when I last visited, but they do solve the trust problem and I would take them when I visit again.

This is a often understated advantage which Uber brings - the ability to land anywhere in the world and, modulo internet connection, get a safe ride within minutes where you know you won't be overcharged or longhauled.

In China the taxi oligopolies are very strong and the taxis are notorious for poor service. In Beijing, they come with their doors locked and roll the windows down to ask you where you want to go, to see if they feel like going in that direction.

Don't Uber drivers do the same by just not choosing fares that go to certain locations?

They don't see the destination before accepting

Primarily two things:

1. Time/Convenience: India does not have a system like America where you can hail cabs, they are only booked via an agency. These bookings need to be made some hours in advance. A pre-Uber thing (which I'm sure is still common in non-metropolotian parts of india) was to book an appropriately sized cab a day before we have a flight or train to catch. With Uber, request an Uber XL and you're done.

2. Price: As expected, these agencies work out to be pretty expensive. Uber is almost 50% cheaper.

I personally use Uber when I'm with people or have luggage with me. Otherwise India does have a very good metro train and also has autorickshaws (aka tuk tuk) but the former is not point to point and the latter seats 3 people at best (and an Uber sometimes works out to be cheaper than a autorickshaw)

I think that currently only a small part of India uses Uber significantly, but those who do have nothing but praise (anecdotal). Uber has better quality and better drivers for a better price. That said, the market seems large enough to warrant competitors like Ola and Meru.

You are overestimating the competitiveness of these markets. In many(perhaps most) parts of India, these operate as unions/ price cartels. The tuk-tuks in particularly ignore meter pricing, in most parts of India, and may resort to violence/harassment to protect themselves from competition. Also most taxis/tuk tuks are independent and do not belong to any company. As such, I imagine they don't enjoy the benefits of economies of scale, efficiencies, and technology that Uber can afford. The quality of service is very poor, which makes Uber something of a Godsend. All these are points on which Uber can and is currently exploiting to gain a foothold, although they face strong challenges.

If you think taxis are bad in the US, they are 10x worse outside of it.

Maybe in the 3rd world, but I consistently hear that they are good in Germany: nice cars, show up on time, well trained drivers, overinsured, cheap.

In Bangkok:

* I'm yet to have an Uber driver clearly on methamphetamine, but a notable number of taximeter drivers

* No quibbling over the price or trying to overcharge from Uber

* Uber cars always have seatbelts, it's rare to find them in the back seat of taximeters

* Even if the Uber driver doesn't know the place you're going to, they've got a map, and directions, and they'll use them

* No worrying about if you've got sufficient loose change; you can be sure the taximeter driver will have a real shortage currently if you have only big notes

And on and on and on...

Regular (black and yellow) taxis and rickshaws exist in Mumbai and very few other Indian cities including Delhi. However only in Mumbai do they ply according to a meter. The rest of the cities, they just charge whatever they feel like. Also most cab drivers will refuse to take passengers depending on destination on a regular basis. Maybe 50% of the time. Other radio cab services like Meru (the oldest radio cab service), need at least a half hour for booking. You also need to provide your destination. Also paying cash is a real pain, because most cab drivers will just claim to not have change and try to pocket it.

Uber is a breath of fresh air here. It doesn't force a destination, you can instantly know whether cars are available or not, generally arrives in 10 minutes or so, and there is no cash payment needed.

Where price is concerned, they've now managed to figure out the right pricing, so that an Uber ride costs only marginally more than a regular cab ride. e.g. Home to work takes around Rs 200 for a regular cab. Uber costs anywhere from Rs 220 (Uber X), to 350 (Uber Black).

There are no free rides here in India (at least Mumbai). You get a promo of up to Rs 600 (USD 10) to start with. And that's it. I very much doubt the claims about drivers earning Rs 100,000+. I am going to ask my Uber drivers to and from work about how much they make.

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