# Rate Cuts: NY Times blog quotes UP



## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/bit...raising-some-concern-among-drivers/?referrer=
*

By MIKE ISAAC
JANUARY 9, 2015*
Uber, the popular ride-hailing start-up, has enticed millions of new customers with a simple promise: The experience will be better and cheaper than taking a taxi.

The cheaper part may be especially true after Uber's announcement late Thursday, when the company said it would cut rider fares across 48 cities in the United States.

Uber said the fare cuts would help drivers "beat the winter slump" by generating business in the months after the busy holiday season. The cuts will largely affect markets in which the company has a relatively small presence, like in Nashville or Milwaukee.

Uber, which allows users to summon a private car with a few taps of a smartphone app, has reduced driver fares in the past. It often cites the same argument: The lower the cost of its service, the more people will use it. And the more people use it, the more money drivers will make.

To reassure drivers worried about lower fares, Uber said it would guarantee a minimum fare per hour for drivers in these cities.

"We expect that these seasonal price cuts will help bring newer Uber markets in line with our larger ones with lower costs for riders, higher earnings for drivers, shorter wait times for both and a better experience for all," the company said in a blog post. Fares vary on a city-by-city basis.

But on a popular message board among Uber drivers, commenters expressed doubts that Uber's guarantees would offset the heavy price cuts.

In a post on the site, UberPeople.net, one person, for example, pointed out that demand for the service could only increase to a certain point to compensate for Uber's discounts.

"[Uber's] blog post is hysterical," wrote the person, whose user name is anOzzieUber. "Why not drop the fares by 95 percent, then we could all expect about 50 rides per hour?"

"Time and again we've seen that with price cuts, drivers earn the same or more per hour because more people turn to Uber for an affordable, reliable ride whenever it makes life more convenient," said Lane Kasselman, an Uber spokesman.

In Uber's blog post, the company described the cuts as "seasonal," though did not specify how long they would last.


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## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

@anOzzieUber


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## Worcester Sauce (Aug 20, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/bit...raising-some-concern-among-drivers/?referrer=
> *
> 
> By MIKE ISAAC
> ...


great post.....good job


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## anOzzieUber (Oct 31, 2014)

I'm famous - something to add to my Resume for (hopefully) upcoming interviews for REAL jobs


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## Worcester Sauce (Aug 20, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> @anOzzieUber


love the 50 rides per hour quip (it crystalized the "pyramid scheme logic" of Uber in just a few well chozen words).


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## Lou W (Oct 26, 2014)

I thought they would use the thread where I said I shit my pants. "The paper of record" is too highbrow for that. They can't handle the truth, nor will they print it. Cowards!!


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> By MIKE ISAAC
> JANUARY 9, 2015


I'd clued him in.


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## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

Lou W said:


> I thought they would use the thread where I said I shit my pants. "The paper of record" is too highbrow for that. They can't handle the truth, nor will they print it. Cowards!!


Well, to be fair, what's the pressing newsworthiness? Independent Contractors are getting ****ed over by a multi billion dollar corporation? Yawn. This is America. That shit happens every day.

Further, for the general public, they're getting a service they like at a lower rate, and there are people still willing to perform that service for little to no money. It's a win for them.

Strike. That will make print. Stop Uber for even a day, and that will make print.

But I would really love to see just one report on the economics of this for the driver. How much is the driver really making?!


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## anOzzieUber (Oct 31, 2014)

I've probably got a Business Operations Manual (BOM) stored away somewhere from my previous employment in the logistics industry - it warned against discounting your prices - you provide a reliable and superior service, so why discount it? Now here we have Travis with his billions of dollars and "yes" men earning 6 figures while taking a piss break - and there answer to beating the competition is to drop prices? Wankers - Travis, for a one time fee of $10,000 I would have told you in 5 minutes that droping prices will increase revenue - but it is no way to encourage future growth. If the best your team can come up with to increase riders is this, then you are barking up the wrong tree. Grow a brain will ya. Sheesh - if I didn't know better, I'd nearly think my local Uber office was run by just out of school/uni 20-something old's.... oh hang on one second......


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## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

anOzzieUber said:


> I've probably got a Business Operations Manual (BOM) stored away somewhere from my previous employment in the logistics industry - it warned against discounting your prices - you provide a reliable and superior service, so why discount it? Now here we have Travis with his billions of dollars and "yes" men earning 6 figures while taking a piss break - and there answer to beating the competition is to drop prices? Wankers - Travis, for a one time fee of $10,000 I would have told you in 5 minutes that droping prices will increase revenue - but it is no way to encourage future growth. If the best your team can come up with to increase riders is this, then you are barking up the wrong tree. Grow a brain will ya. Sheesh - if I didn't know better, I'd nearly think my local Uber office was run by just out of school/uni 20-something old's.... oh hang on one second......


UberBlack prices haven't changed, just X. Clearly it's a strategic move to run competitors out of the market; then Uber can do whatever it wants.


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## Superunknown (Nov 15, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> Clearly it's a strategic move to run competitors out of the market, then they can do whatever they want


While this statement is generally true, it doesn't explain why Uber cut rates in our market. Baton Rouge does not have Lyft, Sidecar, or any other rideshare competition to speak of. Taxicabs over here are for the most part unreliable, in substandard condition, and disliked by everyone I know in town. Uber was already 20%-%25 cheaper than taxis before this round of rate cuts. I've never heard anyone complain about our non-surge rates. I can tell you the lower rates did not increase rider demand one bit yesterday. From my perspective it's a real head scratcher.


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## Jeeves (Apr 10, 2014)

Famous from New York to Alaska!

http://www.adn.com/article/20150109/uber-cuts-fares-48-cities-raising-some-concern-among-drivers


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## UbermanFLL (Oct 1, 2014)

The winter slump argument doesn't hold water in South Florida. This is the busiest time of the year in South Florida for all businesses especially the taxi cab industry.

The county commissioners are working on regulations for TNC's. Fare control is one area they are looking at. Orlando just passed regs setting the TNC rates the same as taxis. ($2.40/mile). I will be writing our commissioners to encourage them to adopt the same regs in Broward.


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## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

Superunknown said:


> While this statement is generally true, it doesn't explain why Uber cut rates in our market. Baton Rouge does not have Lyft, Sidecar, or any other rideshare competition to speak of. Taxicabs over here are for the most part unreliable, in substandard condition, and disliked by everyone I know in town. Uber was already 20%-%25 cheaper than taxis before this round of rate cuts. I've never heard anyone complain about our non-surge rates. I can tell you the lower rates did not increase rider demand one bit yesterday. From my perspective it's a real head scratcher.


Maybe it's just a big experiment to see how much power they have and to see how far they can push their employees, er, I mean independent contractors.

They did one test in Nashville and saw that we are too stupid to quit, so they rolled it out the next day in 48 other cities. Practically no notice.


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## Superunknown (Nov 15, 2014)

JaxBeachDriver said:


> Maybe it's just a big experiment to see how much power they have and to see how far they can push their employees, er, I mean independent contractors.
> 
> They did one test in Nashville and saw that we are too stupid to quit, so they rolled it out the next day in 48 other cities. Practically no notice.


It's like we're guinea pigs in this poorly thought out experiment run by sadistic scientists.


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## Lidman (Nov 13, 2014)

Seasoal? lolol that's cute.


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## DriverJ (Sep 1, 2014)

anOzzieUber said:


> I'm famous - something to add to my Resume for (hopefully) upcoming interviews for REAL jobs


I hear Uber is hiring. You good at lying?


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## Jeeves (Apr 10, 2014)

@anOzzieUber is famous here: http://www.franchiseherald.com/arti...s-cities-promises-drivers-higher-earnings.htm as well.


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