# Juno is a driver friendly rideshare app



## MelbaGuy (Nov 12, 2015)

Only in startup mode in NYC at present, but Uber may have some serious competition coming

worth a read for some truly innovative concepts

http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/29/11301076/juno-uber-drivers-ride-hail-app-talmon-marco


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

It certainly looks very interesting.

Here's another article about them:

A new ride-hailing app plans to beat Uber by treating its drivers better



> "A lot of Uber drivers' complaints fall on deaf ears, and Juno is literally addressing all of these pain points that Uber hasn't done anything about for years," founder Talmon Marco told Quartz.
> 
> Juno aims to woo drivers with specific perks. For one thing, it will pay drivers more, because the company's commission will be much lower. Juno's commission will be set at 10% of each fare, as opposed to Uber's 20 to 30% (Uber's commissions vary by city). It will also operate a 24/7 call center for drivers and customers to report issues. (Uber requires nearly all of its drivers' complaints to go through email, where requests are often managed by outsourced staff from the Philippines.) And the company also plans to offer 50% of its founding equity to drivers.





> Most notably, Marco tells Quartz that eventually Juno will let drivers choose if they want to be classified as employees or independent contractors. That distinction is the cause of a major class action lawsuit faced by Uber in California. Drivers allege that the company dictates their work environment and argue they deserve wages and benefits.
> 
> "This is one part of the industry I firmly disagree with," Marco tells Quartz. "If I am setting the fares and you are working only with us, then you are an employee." He said that employee drivers will be compensated through a combination of wages and bonuses. And passenger fares, he told Quartz, will be competitive with Uber and Lyft.


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## Skyring (Sep 17, 2015)

Coca-Cola has a secret recipe, but they aren't too worried that it might leak. They are one of the best known brands in the world. Even if someone began selling the exact same product under a different name, they would start well behind in brand recognition and customer preference. Pepsi sells a better cola, but is well behind Coke.

So any rideshare app has a big hurdle to jump before competing with Uber on anything like a level playing field. They would have to build up the global presence that Uber already has. For example, I can go to any major city in the world, turn on my Uber app and get a ride. No alternative has the same reach, even if any one of them has a better product. There are hundreds of local alternatives, many of them based on taxi fleets, but if I sign up for one in Sydney, I can't use it in London or Hong Kong. I'd have to download another app and fill in my credit card details etc.

So, Juno may be the bee's knees, and as a driver, I certainly like the driver orientation, but they have a lot of work to do before they have Uber's reach.


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## MyRedUber (Dec 28, 2015)

For the vast majority of passengers, they only need their app to work in one country.


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## Skyring (Sep 17, 2015)

MyRedUber said:


> For the vast majority of passengers, they only need their app to work in one country.


And for the vast majority of cola drinkers, they'll never drink it anywhere but in their home country. Nevertheless, Coke is the dominant brand, as is Uber, because it is ubiquitous and visible.


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## UberDriverAU (Nov 4, 2015)

Skyring said:


> Coca-Cola has a secret recipe, but they aren't too worried that it might leak. They are one of the best known brands in the world. Even if someone began selling the exact same product under a different name, they would start well behind in brand recognition and customer preference. Pepsi sells a better cola, but is well behind Coke.
> 
> So any rideshare app has a big hurdle to jump before competing with Uber on anything like a level playing field. They would have to build up the global presence that Uber already has. For example, I can go to any major city in the world, turn on my Uber app and get a ride. No alternative has the same reach, even if any one of them has a better product. There are hundreds of local alternatives, many of them based on taxi fleets, but if I sign up for one in Sydney, I can't use it in London or Hong Kong. I'd have to download another app and fill in my credit card details etc.
> 
> So, Juno may be the bee's knees, and as a driver, I certainly like the driver orientation, but they have a lot of work to do before they have Uber's reach.


The guy backing Juno has a decent track record. He created Viber and built it up to the point where he sold it off for US$900 million. Not a bad effort in a heavily saturated instant messaging market where people most likely already have at least one or two IM apps installed.

Of course it's not going to be easy to unseat the market leader, but it's certainly worth a shot given the size of the potential markets we're talking about.


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## Tim In Cleveland (Jul 28, 2014)

Skyring said:


> Coca-Cola has a secret recipe, but they aren't too worried that it might leak. They are one of the best known brands in the world. Even if someone began selling the exact same product under a different name, they would start well behind in brand recognition and customer preference. Pepsi sells a better cola, but is well behind Coke.
> 
> So, Juno may be the bee's knees, and as a driver, I certainly like the driver orientation, but they have a lot of work to do before they have Uber's reach.


Bullocks. Coke dominates because more people prefer it's taste. No other reason in the world. Not many on the planet have failed to try BOTH. Uber has the disadvantage that their own drivers hate their guts and will jump ship as soon as better treatment comes along. Yes, there will be a period where they keep both apps on but they will cancel accepted trips because a Juno offer came up or anything else they can think of pay back Uber for it's lies and harassment.


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## Skyring (Sep 17, 2015)

Tim In Cleveland said:


> Bullocks. Coke dominates because more people prefer it's taste. No other reason in the world. Not many on the planet have failed to try BOTH. Uber has the disadvantage that their own drivers hate their guts and will jump ship as soon as better treatment comes along. Yes, there will be a period where they keep both apps on but they will cancel accepted trips because a Juno offer came up or anything else they can think of pay back Uber for it's lies and harassment.


Always nice to have an objective, dispassionate view, eh?


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## LevelX (Aug 7, 2015)

Skyring said:


> Pepsi sells a better cola, but is well behind Coke.


Oh really? I like Coke better myself...... but sure.


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## bezi_NY (Feb 28, 2015)

Skyring said:


> Coca-Cola has a secret recipe, but they aren't too worried that it might leak. They are one of the best known brands in the world. Even if someone began selling the exact same product under a different name, they would start well behind in brand recognition and customer preference. Pepsi sells a better cola, but is well behind Coke.
> 
> So any rideshare app has a big hurdle to jump before competing with Uber on anything like a level playing field. They would have to build up the global presence that Uber already has. For example, I can go to any major city in the world, turn on my Uber app and get a ride. No alternative has the same reach, even if any one of them has a better product. There are hundreds of local alternatives, many of them based on taxi fleets, but if I sign up for one in Sydney, I can't use it in London or Hong Kong. I'd have to download another app and fill in my credit card details etc.
> 
> So, Juno may be the bee's knees, and as a driver, I certainly like the driver orientation, but they have a lot of work to do before they have Uber's reach.


Do you not remember the dot com bubble?


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## Skyring (Sep 17, 2015)

bezi_NY said:


> Do you not remember the dot com bubble?


Sure. But Uber is now an established brand, and pretty much a household name. Any competitor will have to not only have an equal or superior product and business plan, but also some means to overcome the existing brand recognition.

The reference to Coke previously stems from the fact that Coca-Cola is not really worried that someone will steal their secret formula and duplicate their product. If someone did that and marketed an exact replica, how could they hope to beat Coke's brand recognition? No matter what they did, they would not be seen as "the real thing".


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## bezi_NY (Feb 28, 2015)

Skyring said:


> Sure. But Uber is now an established brand, and pretty much a household name. Any competitor will have to not only have an equal or superior product and business plan, but also some means to overcome the existing brand recognition.
> 
> The reference to Coke previously stems from the fact that Coca-Cola is not really worried that someone will steal their secret formula and duplicate their product. If someone did that and marketed an exact replica, how could they hope to beat Coke's brand recognition? No matter what they did, they would not be seen as "the real thing".


I agree about the Coke part, but Coca-Cola is not the same as a service. Apps on the other hand are being downloaded by 3 year olds. You're really thinking old school. I do Juno and it is by far a superior to Ubers. The company is way more efficiently and professional with its drivers. Uber on the other hand thinks it's drivers are idiots. Lets be frank uber is nothing more than a dispatcher and a taxi meter/ cash register. A person down loads an app and requests a car for transportation what shows up at the door God only knows. 
Juno on the other hand took all of Ubers highest rated drivers for free with no sign on bonus. (Actually some of us got $100. and our parking paid for at one world trade.) (which equates to much more efficient company in my opinion.) Uber lost almost all its drivers since its launch. The equivalent of Coca-Cola completely changing its formula to something like a mellow yellow in some cans and the original formula Coke in other cans some cans carbonated some with no carbonation.. Some cans clean some cans dirty and sticky, yet all having the same look on the outside.. Hmm, I think I'd want to try the new soft drink that just came out on the market.

You speak like no other car service ever existed before Uber came along. Before I was old enough to drive I had a yellow pages full of car services and I would X one I didn't like and put a star next to one was good. Now in some cases an App Store has replaced the yellow pages and that App Store is full of alternatives.

I don't know about your area but in New York the yellow cars are looking better than the Uber X and I think like in the yellow page days uber X is being X'd out by the rise of the new and old stars.


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## Coconutz (Mar 8, 2016)

bezi_NY said:


> I agree about the Coke part, but Coca-Cola is not the same as a service. Apps on the other hand are being downloaded by 3 year olds. You're really thinking old school. I do Juno and it is by far a superior to Ubers. The company is way more efficiently and professional with its drivers. Uber on the other hand thinks it's drivers are idiots. Lets be frank uber is nothing more than a dispatcher and a taxi meter/ cash register. A person down loads an app and requests a car for transportation what shows up at the door God only knows.
> Juno on the other hand took all of Ubers highest rated drivers for free with no sign on bonus. (Actually some of us got $100. and our parking paid for at one world trade.) (which equates to much more efficient company in my opinion.) Uber lost almost all its drivers since its launch. The equivalent of Coca-Cola completely changing its formula to something like a mellow yellow in some cans and the original formula Coke in other cans some cans carbonated some with no carbonation.. Some cans clean some cans dirty and sticky, yet all having the same look on the outside.. Hmm, I think I'd want to try the new soft drink that just came out on the market.
> 
> You speak like no other car service ever existed before Uber came along. Before I was old enough to drive I had a yellow pages full of car services and I would X one I didn't like and put a star next to one was good. Now in some cases an App Store has replaced the yellow pages and that App Store is full of alternatives.
> ...


How modern and moving with the times your answer is. Love it!!! Your exactly right, I like the fact that uber has provided a flexible income stream but I'm fully aware and keen for another platform that is EVEN MORE (hey uber opened pandoras app or box)aligned with my earning requirements and employment conditions. It far and few between that this perception is viewed, you either love it or hate it. Well if you can make it work for you this proves you can have it literally both ways. Ride share on!!!!


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## bezi_NY (Feb 28, 2015)

Coconutz said:


> How modern and moving with the times your answer is. Love it!!! Your exactly right, I like the fact that uber has provided a flexible income stream but I'm fully aware and keen for another platform that is EVEN MORE (hey uber opened pandoras app or box)aligned with my earning requirements and employment conditions. It far and few between that this perception is viewed, you either love it or hate it. Well if you can make it work for you this proves you can have it literally both ways. Ride share on!!!!


I totally agree! I can't wait for Junos launch in New York!! (Only the beta release is available right now) It may open up Ubers eyes to somethings that need to change. If it's slow to change or does not adapt quickly it may end up in the dot com cemetery really fast!

The checker cab is still my favorite of them all


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