They say that during the California gold rush, the people who got richest were the shovel salesmen
Pretty sure it was the people who had the money for heavy equipment and labor that could get the deep gold the prospectors found, but couldn't reach.
Pretty sure it was the few people who controlled the amount of supply to the people who wanted the gold after taking the gold from the miners
To be fair, Trainline started up years ago as a middle man that charge the same for tickets as train operators do (the price is regulated by National Rail) but with a surplus for a service that doesn't convey any extra value, and they're still quite popular.
They spent a lot on advertising to begin with, specifically advertising that broke the guidelines, but was only taken down after everyone had heard the name and the idea that it was cheaper to use Trainline: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/may/20/asa-trainline-ad https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/misleading-advertising-by-trainline.104250/
They eventually started getting commissions from train operating companies (TOCs) for selling tickets, which I believe the TOCs in turn used as justification for raising ticket prices above inflation. I used to work for a TOC that at the time refused to work with Trainline, because it meant having to install special ticket machines at loss only to make more loss on ticket revenue, but according to a mate of mine who still works there, they now accept the tickets because it's such a headache for staff when people come in having spent money for an invalid ticket.
So it's just shit for everyone except Trainline, and quite a stark example of how unsuited for public infrastructure a free market model is. Imagine if some company came along and said you could pay your gas bill through them for cheaper and it just wasn't true but everyone believes it so gas is just dearer now. Fucking bananas.
If this meant that Uber was actually investing in the U.S. passenger rail system, then I’d cheer them on. It doesn’t, though, so Uber can continue to suck my ass.
Ride sharing and micromobility services are great and the future. It is more sustainable and convenient.
I don't get why some people are mad about it.
Uber is an awful company, but rideshare as a whole is beneficial in the terms of getting less cars sold and used.
There is some attempt somewhere in the US to do a coop out of Uber, where there is no middleman public company and drivers get all the fares. I hope that works out.
Probably because of their shitty business practices in an ecosystem that already has strong class oppression
Because Uber spends money actively fighting against paying the people who work for them a living wage.
If these people had any leverage or unity they would get what they want. When these "fighters" are weak and unable to bargain for the wages and conditions they want all they have is whining about "uber bad".
It isn't just the taste of the boot. It's the deeply held belief that if they lick enough boots, they'll become the ones wearing boots.
Hard to union when they are contractors with no direct way to communicate. Not to mention the company “contracting” them can just stop servicing the areas where the union talks are cropping up.
Is it possible? Yes. But extremely unlikely unless a major player in the union world steps up and pours in a shit ton of effort.
True. Hopefully they unionize more and get more leverage and get better wages at some point!!
Have you missed all the instances of Uber exploiting people, or are you just fine with that?
Traditionally, the trick to achieving this involves embezzlement, fraud, or some other racket.
People compain about uber yet without it they wouldn't have their unqualified job. Curious...
without it they wouldn’t have their unqualified job
You'd never even know jobs existed before the taxi cab tech startup.
As a general concept, I don’t think you’re wrong. However, Uber in particular is problematic. They’re greedy, exploit their workers, and threaten municipalities that try to regulate them.
That is public company 101. They answer to their shareholders to make maximum profit.
"Ohh no why is uber so evil wanting to make as much money as possible"
That's every company 😆
Odd that so many people here are implicitly defending all other companies like Nike, Apple and McDonald's... as long as it's not Uber exploitation is ok or something?
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I heard a lot about burgerland and their carcentrism, but even they are not as carbrained petrolheads as USSAians.
Car ownership and use is prevalent in every developed nation. Even Netherlands and other places with good city planning.
This "future" you speak of will never exist
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"Hurr durr, there's polution in every nation. A world without polution will never exist".
"Hurr durr, there's slavery everywhere (0 BCE), a future without slavery will never exist".
Seriously though cars are here to stay in some capacity. Trains aren't good ambulances.
When people push such absurd idealism all it does is make the more sensible approaches to sustainable trasit systems harder to argue for because everyone has already written it off after seeing people getting wild
I can't help but imagine actually using Uber to call for a train and when it arrives, it's just some old-timey blind guy on one of those old-timey hand-carts singing prophetic songs about what your day is gonna be like.
Fuck gig economy reform, intimidate your way to disability justice in the workplace via ominous clairvoyance and getting absolutely fucking yoked enough to suplex a train like it’s Final Fantasy VI
To be fair, it was a ghost train. Not being corporeal might make it incredibly lightweight. :p
Imagine if this actually worked like the main rideshare function. You order a ride in Roanoke and N&W 611 just rolls up to your doorstep.
as someone who sucks at driving and avoids it when at all possible this would be a dream come true
I’m gonna play extreme geoguesser here, but is that bridge at Battersea park road/Queenstown road bridge, right near Battersea Park Station?
Bingpot! I think it was the glass on the left with the blue lines on it that did it for me, that's by the Bakerloo/Jubilee escalators isn't it?
I'm not particularly fond of Uber's bussiness practices but if it is well integrated then it might encourage people who use Uber anyway to take a train instead of a car
It's not going to be well integrated. They will provide services only on profitable routes. All companies providing services on not profitable connections will lose out until the whole system is worse than before uber joined
That's relatively standard for start-ups and not awful on its face.
But its not clear from the ad copy whether they're actually offering any kind of independent service, or whether they're just doing the middleman bullshit, where they charge you a convenience fee to buy a ticket you could have just as easily obtained directly from Amtrak.
If this is just Ticketmaster For Trains, then its arguably even worse. The last thing we need is more privatized transaction clearing services.
How does that work? Like you put out a request and a conductor drives a locomotive to pick you up?
I'm pretty sure you can just buy train tickets on Uber or some shit
Maybe automatically chain together and Uber and a train or something
I figured out what you meant but my initial mental image for "automatically chain together" was a long line of Hondas and Teslas connected by short tow straps.
no no, you might be onto something there. what if we traded the wheels and roads for steel rather than rubber and asphalt, to decrease the rolling resistance, and increase the durability... yeah, I can see it now... you might be a genius!
Fuck cars and fuck Uber but this sounds like a reaction to Lyft being integrated in the (excellent) Transit app
Cars are useful and convenient. That is partially why they are so popular.
If you want less cars in your city car sharing services and micro mobility (scooters, ebikes) are your friend.
"useful and convenient"....
How about deadly, destructive, and isolating?
Or we could just ignore the corrupt alliance of industry colluding to eliminate other transportation options and wax poetic about the Free Market and Rugged Individualism, right?
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I like to share these small cars from TransMashHolding:
Bigger one I like too:
And tiny car from LIAZ I like too:
That last one seems like one of those "trackless trains" China is developing. They really live in the future
It's a pretty neat system they got, all you got to do is say "I like trains" in a monotone voice and BOOM! Train!
This appears to have been available since at least October last year - you can buy train tickets through the Uber app. Thread from another forum here.
Yeah, seems like having the option to go for ebikes, trains and other stuff than cars in the same app would be a good thing. Someone might go for those options since they're right there.
Best I can figure is the train companies are using Uber as a system to sell tickets, instead of or in addition to their own system. Can anyone comment?