You're not getting a cab. You're getting a "hired car" - a mini limo.
The point is not the price. The point is the model. The price can fall later. Hell, CABS could adopt this and make their lives easier and their response faster, without a large price increase.
In Britain it works so well that traditional black-cab taxis are now more expensive than calling a for a minicab. This app will make it even cheaper and quicker to hire a minicab.
It's an interesting model, but I think its spread is overly optimistic, considering the regulatory barriers to entry to taxi service in many places. (To wit: You need a license, and it's often not as simple as just upping your insurance. Livery and hackney carriage licenses can cost tens of thousands, some places.)
The open source like aspect is a nice idea, but unlikely to get far due the reasons you state.
I'd be happy, though, if it just spread to all the existing cab companies. Flagging them down is always a pain, and if you call one you never know exactly when it's going to come, which usually isn't much of a hardship but sometimes (usually weather) it's more annoying than others. The solution is of course to call ahead of time and schedule a pickup, but that's not always an option.
Huh, I've had a cabbie turn me down because even though they were the same cab company they were called for someone else. Mine came a few minutes later. I guess it depends on how strict their dispatcher is.
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(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-01 05:36 pm (UTC)Bad network effect! No biscuit!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-01 05:54 pm (UTC)The point is not the price. The point is the model. The price can fall later. Hell, CABS could adopt this and make their lives easier and their response faster, without a large price increase.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-01 06:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-01 06:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-01 08:17 pm (UTC)I'd be happy, though, if it just spread to all the existing cab companies. Flagging them down is always a pain, and if you call one you never know exactly when it's going to come, which usually isn't much of a hardship but sometimes (usually weather) it's more annoying than others. The solution is of course to call ahead of time and schedule a pickup, but that's not always an option.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-01 10:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-01 11:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-01 10:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-01 11:17 pm (UTC)