Scale Ruins Everything

Given that we've been throwing cash at every conceivable idea for the last ten plus years, yet when speaking of unicorns we still have to refer back to airbnb and uber, seems like we're well past "peak unicorn" and well into the "horse with a mild concussion" era.

It's also disconcerting how much their success seems to hinge on using technology as a lever to break laws or social expectations, as opposed to technology as something that itself empowers humans to be more productive.

Getting a taxi in my college town in 2005 was agony. Make a phone call from a loud bar and shout at some guy who can barely tell what you're saying that you want a taxi and then maybe if you're lucky they show up in an hour and cost 3 times as much as you expected (and that's on a good night!) vs. "press a button, get a ride" (and have a feedback mechanism for horrible drivers or gross cars, etc.).

Uber has issues but honestly it's night and day compared to what taxis were like. And they decrease DUI's.

For what it's worth, around here you call an ordinary taxi exactly the same way: Press a button, get a ride. Been like that for a long time.

With their specific app?

In the last 2 weeks I've used the Uber app in Washington, New York, Miami and Stoke (UK). One app, 4 cities, 2 continents.

The app covers all the various taxi companies around here. It's not international.

That's one problem. I typically need a taxi when I'm in a remote city a long way form home. Uber gives me a common app that works from Sydney to San Francisco. I'm not going to land in Chicago and work out which of the myriad of apps I need to get.

Now if it was instead a website, sure, much easier. No need to create accounts etc, just visit "chicagotaxi.com", perhaps shown on a sign at the airport/station/etc, then book and pay with applepay/googlepay.

But installing some application, signing up, having my data stolen, all to be told "no taxis available", is the reality of a local app.

How is the situation with Uber and insurance these days? I remember from years back that Uber drivers didn't have the insurance that taxi drivers need (though that may vary by country). As one who has actually experienced a car crash involving a taxi (I was in the taxi, but fortunately on the left side in the back seat when another car crashed into its right side), I have a keen interest in insurance..