The "sharing" economy--is it here to stay?

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August 3rd, 2015 at 6:28:10 AM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: Evenbob
That's not true in the least. Cab companies cover
all facets of an area, there is nothing they ignore.
Especially in the summer, it is hard for drivers
to make a living. People walk, ride bikes, wait
for a bus. Uber is taking the rides that would
normally go to licensed cab drivers. If I still had
the cab co, I would be out their smashing Uber
windshields too.


The fact that you can get it by the app instead of a call alone is a service the cabs are not offering. Time is moving on, cab companies clearly need to explain why they should get my business instead of acting out the scene in "Goodfellas" where Tuddy has Henry burn the competitor out.
The President is a fink.
August 3rd, 2015 at 8:40:12 AM permalink
kenarman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 14
Posts: 4470
Quote: AZDuffman
The fact that you can get it by the app instead of a call alone is a service the cabs are not offering. Time is moving on, cab companies clearly need to explain why they should get my business instead of acting out the scene in "Goodfellas" where Tuddy has Henry burn the competitor out.


There are several regular cab apps out there. Just google for you area.
"but if you make yourselves sheep, the wolves will eat you." Benjamin Franklin
August 3rd, 2015 at 10:07:02 AM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: kenarman
There are several regular cab apps out there. Just google for you area.


No need to, I will just use Uber if I cannot get a lift to the airport.
The President is a fink.
August 3rd, 2015 at 10:57:36 AM permalink
TheCesspit
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 23
Posts: 1929
Quote: AZDuffman
No need to, I will just use Uber if I cannot get a lift to the airport.


In a few years there will be an app that will price hunt between Uber, the local cab companies and any other services to give you the best price, and book the cab and take you to the airport.

Because Uber isn't always the cheapest (and I suspect someone will eat their lunch soon).
It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die.... it's called Life
August 3rd, 2015 at 12:53:11 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: AZDuffman
The fact that you can get it by the app instead of a call alone is a service the cabs are not offering.


You can call a cab from your cell phone,
it takes just as long and you get exactly
the same results: A cab shows up.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
August 3rd, 2015 at 1:17:39 PM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 188
Posts: 18631
It could literally come down to a dollar difference. Uber offers cab service to the airport for a dollar less, and I have plenty of time, I probably will take Uber.

Might all go the way of airport service. Cost leads to cutting back, and next thing you know your "cab" is a Smart Car trying to cram 6 people in it.
You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?
August 3rd, 2015 at 1:37:21 PM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: Evenbob
You can call a cab from your cell phone,
it takes just as long and you get exactly
the same results: A cab shows up.


But with Uber I know my flat rate. With a cab the meter clicks at every traffic light.
The President is a fink.
August 3rd, 2015 at 6:37:05 PM permalink
TheCesspit
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 23
Posts: 1929
Quote: AZDuffman
But with Uber I know my flat rate. With a cab the meter clicks at every traffic light.


At the time of booking... course it might be insanely expensive that day. Here, most of the cab companies lfat rate the airport run. It's of course different in different cities.
It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die.... it's called Life
August 3rd, 2015 at 7:34:08 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: AZDuffman
But with Uber I know my flat rate. With a cab the meter clicks at every traffic light.


Unless caught in horrible traffic, the meter cost
for not moving is very minimal, usually
it's nothing. Uber has lower prices
because it's screwing it's drivers, it's
not offering a living wage.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
September 18th, 2015 at 10:42:13 PM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 188
Posts: 18631
Well, I guess this saves airport parking fees.

Quote:

FlightCar helps owners rent their cars to others while traveling

Andria Yu, USA TODAY 9:24 a.m. EDT September 8, 2015

The Great Recession may be over, but many people are still trying to save money or earn a little extra. Rujul Zaparde's company helps travelers do both.

Many travelers are familiar with this scenario: After a long flight, you pick up your car at the airport's long-term parking lot. The $7 or $10 daily rate doesn't seem like much, but after a week or two, the cost seems like a small ransom.

Zaparde's company, FlightCar.com, flips the scenario. Return from a trip, pick up your car and get paid, or at least get free parking.

FlightCar takes advantage of the growing peer-to-peer sharing economy, allowing travelers to share their vehicles. Travelers list their vehicle with FlightCar, drop it off at one of FlightCar's lots near an airport, and another traveler rents the car while the owner is away. When a traveler returns, he or she picks up the car, which has been washed and vacuumed, and gets a check in the mail. If the car isn't rented, parking is still free. For renters, prices at FlightCar are often cheaper than at traditional car rental companies.

FlightCar, which operates at 17 airports, offers a monthly program that solves another problem for those who don't need their cars for extended periods, such as military personnel who must leave their vehicle parked for months while on duty away from home.

"For example, if you live in the city and pay $300 a month to park in a garage, you can (instead) list with our monthly program and make, on average, $300 a month" from people renting your car, says Zaparde, 20. "And if you need a vehicle, you can use your own (or an equivalent one) for four days per month. Plus, we take care of basic maintenance." FlightCar provides insurance for renters and owners.

FlightCar, headquartered in San Francisco, is one of 10 finalists for USA TODAY's Small Business Innovator of the Year award. More nominee profiles will run in the coming weeks, and a winner will be announced in December.

Zaparde says he came up with the idea in February 2012. He was at a sandwich shop with his friend Kevin Petrovic. Zaparde had just finished reading an article about Airbnb. "I was telling Kevin about Airbnb and how people were sharing their houses, and we started talking." If people were sharing their homes, Zaparde wondered, why wouldn't they share their vehicles? "That's how we came up with the concept."

Zaparde said when he first told his father of the idea, his father said it was a bad one. "He said, 'I'd never give you my car.' So we wrote off the idea for about a month, but the idea just made a lot of sense to us," Zaparde says.

That May, the two, who had just graduated from high school, were accepted at start-up accelerator The Brandery, based in Cincinnati. It was a four-month program that offered $20,000 in seed money.

To focus on their start-up, Zaparde and Petrovic decided to ditch their Ivy League college plans. "The way we pitched it to our parents was that students are encouraged to take a 'gap year' anyway," Zaparde says. "We figured we'd try this idea for a summer, and if it didn't work, we'd attend school in the fall." In the end, "Kevin dropped out of Princeton, and I dropped out of Harvard," he says.

FlightCar.com was officially up and running in February 2013 with only Zaparde and Petrovic on staff. By summer 2014, "we had about 35 employees," Zaparde says. "We are at about 160 today, and we're continuing to grow."

The company has raised $22 million in venture capital, says Zaparde, the company's president and CEO, and plans to raise more. Petrovic, who had served as president, left FlightCar in May to pursue other business ventures and travel.

Over the past year, FlightCar has seen tremendous growth. "We grow maybe 20% a month pretty consistently," Zaparde says. "We just passed 90,000 members."

As for other budding entrepreneurs, Zaparde says the best advice he can offer is to "just take the jump and do what you need to do."

"A lot of it, even for us, is about learning, and we're still learning things every day," he says. "We frankly had no idea what we were doing. If you don't know how to raise capital, just Google it, find people, get their advice, write it down and take it to heart. Don't overthink stuff, just take the leap and do it."
You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?
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