1 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Get in text with technology with tex stuff, Chrome host 2 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:15,520 Speaker 1: ft dot Com. EI there, and welcome to tex Stuff. 3 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: I'm Jonathan Strickland, and today we're going to look at 4 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 1: the Uber story, story about the company Uber, not an 5 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: Uber large embank story, although I guess it's that too. 6 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: Now this is gonna be part one. I've already recorded 7 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 1: Part two, Peek behind the Curtain brought Scott Benjamin in 8 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: for a little discussion about Uber and Uh. It ended 9 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 1: up being so long that it had to be its 10 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:41,280 Speaker 1: own episode. I was originally just gonna kind of tag 11 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 1: it onto the end of this one, but you can 12 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: listen to the next episode to hear Scott's ideas about 13 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:50,239 Speaker 1: Uber and autonomous cars and a fleet of vehicles that 14 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 1: take you places without any human drivers. But for this episode, 15 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 1: I really wanted to look at the story of Uber itself, 16 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: not its future, but it's past and up to the present. 17 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 1: So to look at how Uber came about, you have 18 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: to go back to two thousand eight. That's when a 19 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: pair of entrepreneurs named Garrett Camp and Travis Kalinnik began 20 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: to talk about a way to make it easier to 21 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: get a taxi in San Francisco, world's turn upon such 22 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: thoughts bloom So. Camp was a co founder of the 23 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: web discovery platform stumble Upon. So, in case you've never 24 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,559 Speaker 1: used it, stumble Upon is a web discovery tool. Let's 25 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: users share web pages, you can rate them, and it 26 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: also a lots lets you discover other web pages and 27 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 1: photos and videos and other web related content that your 28 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: friends liked. It's sort of a curation engine, so the 29 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: idea is that it helps you discover stuff related to 30 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 1: your interests. So it's kind of like a search engine, 31 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 1: but it's always on the lookout for things that you 32 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: might find interesting, so kind of a baby step towards 33 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: the semantic web, but it's largely dependent upon other people 34 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 1: tagging that information. In May two thousand seven, eBay bought 35 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: stumble Upon for seventy five million dollars. So in two 36 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: thousand and eight, there's Camp sitting around thinking about what 37 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,239 Speaker 1: he's going to tackle next. He's still CEEO of stumble Upon, 38 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,520 Speaker 1: but you know, he's also flush with cash, and by 39 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: the way, he would go on to buy stumble Upon 40 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 1: back from eBay in two thousand nine along with a 41 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: few other investors. Meanwhile, you've got Travis Kalenik, who had 42 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: dropped out of the computer science program at u c 43 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:37,679 Speaker 1: l A to found a company called Scour Incorporated. That's 44 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: s c O you are, and that was a multimedia 45 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 1: search engine. He also created scour Exchange, which was appeer 46 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: to peer file sharing service. Uh, peer to peer file sharing. 47 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: I'm sure you guys remember, But this is a method 48 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: of transferring large data files quickly by creating a network 49 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:03,639 Speaker 1: of peers, all of whom are either hosting part of 50 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: or an entire file large file, and they make that 51 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 1: available to other peers in the network to download, so 52 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 1: it speeds up the downloading process. And this is not 53 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 1: necessarily a means to get illegal content like works that 54 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: are protected under copyright and in other words, it's not 55 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: necessarily a way to pirate stuff. But it has been 56 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: used to pirate things, and so a lot of people 57 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 1: equate peer to peer networks with illegal activity. That's just 58 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 1: not true. It's just a means of distribution. It's kind 59 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: of like saying a road would be illegal because someone 60 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 1: was driving something illegal in a car, or that the 61 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: car itself is illegal. That's ridiculous. Obviously. However, it has 62 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 1: meant that certain industry organizations like the m P A 63 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 1: A and the r I Double A have come down 64 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 1: on these companies and threatened them with enormous lawsuits for 65 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 1: allowing such things to happen. Uh. The d m c 66 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: A says that it gives you know, safe harbor to 67 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: two companies that host these services as long as those 68 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: companies take pains to remove or prevent piracy from happening uh, 69 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:18,080 Speaker 1: and then they're they're protected. But the r I Double 70 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:19,720 Speaker 1: A and the m P A and a couple of 71 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: other organizations all filed lawsuits against scour and so the 72 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:29,719 Speaker 1: company declared bankruptcy in September in anticipation of those lawsuits 73 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:33,479 Speaker 1: coming at them and kind of dissolved. Kalin Nick would 74 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 1: then go on to start other companies. The next one 75 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 1: was called red Swoosh, which was another peer to peer 76 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 1: file exchange service, which was eventually acquired by a Kami 77 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: Technologies or Akamai Technologies in two thousand seven for nineteen 78 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:51,839 Speaker 1: million dollars. So both call Nick and Camp we're doing 79 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: pretty well for themselves. When they met up to talk 80 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:57,040 Speaker 1: about a way to leverage the Internet and mobile devices 81 00:04:57,080 --> 00:04:59,840 Speaker 1: to make it easier to hail a cab to get 82 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 1: a taxi in San Francisco, and actually in the very 83 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:07,040 Speaker 1: beginning it was a bit more elitist than that, according 84 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:10,840 Speaker 1: to some reports. Anyway, The story is that Camp and 85 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,600 Speaker 1: call Nick were in Paris for the low Web conference 86 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 1: and the two began to moll over what a pain 87 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:19,680 Speaker 1: in the patook as it is to hail a cab 88 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: in San Francisco, particularly when you're loaded down with luggage. 89 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: So they started talking about collaborating on a particularly private venture. 90 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: They began to wonder if it would make sense for 91 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:33,760 Speaker 1: them to go in together and purchase a Mercedes S 92 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:37,960 Speaker 1: class vehicle and hire a personal driver and get a 93 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 1: parking spot in a garage that would be geographically equa 94 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,840 Speaker 1: distant to their individual houses. In other words, at first, 95 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:47,440 Speaker 1: they were just talking about sharing a personal driver and 96 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: a car, so kind of like an uber just for 97 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: the two of them. But this conversation evolved into the 98 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: idea for a mobile app that would allow you to 99 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:00,480 Speaker 1: put in a request for a dry her and a 100 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:04,039 Speaker 1: service of drivers capable of responding to such a call. 101 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:07,160 Speaker 1: So Camp would go on to work on that idea 102 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,919 Speaker 1: in his spare time, and he actually produced a prototype 103 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: app in March two thousand nine, at the time, he 104 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:17,080 Speaker 1: was calling it uber Cab. Now Camp actually hired Kallinik 105 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: to become the full time custodian of uber Cab. So 106 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: Camp was still being busy as the CEO of stumble Upon, 107 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:27,640 Speaker 1: and it was Kalenik's job to take this initial prototype 108 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: app and develop it until it could launch as a 109 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 1: real service, with the aim of launching it in San Francisco. 110 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: In January two tho the service was ready for a 111 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: test run and it was about as alpha as you 112 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:44,200 Speaker 1: can get. There were only three cars and they started 113 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:47,159 Speaker 1: in the city of New York City, so three cars 114 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:51,160 Speaker 1: in New York City is a tiny test run of service. 115 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: In March two thousand ten, Uber would hire Ryan Graves 116 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: to become the general manager of the company. And this 117 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: is a pretty funny story all on its own. Kalinnik 118 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: actually posted on Twitter that he was looking for a 119 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,359 Speaker 1: business developer and he said that there would be big 120 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 1: equity in a pre launch product. So Ryan Graves responded 121 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: to the tweet and send a Twitter message of his 122 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 1: own that said they should email him, and they and 123 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: he gave his email address over Twitter, and I guess 124 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 1: things worked out because they hired him. Now. Ryan Graves 125 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 1: had been working at General Electric and had described his 126 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:32,520 Speaker 1: position there as being quote unquote unglamorous and not really 127 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: any room for him to to advance in his job, 128 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 1: at least not that he could see. He had also 129 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: served as an intern for four Square and apparently it 130 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: kind of just wheedled his way into their depending depending 131 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:48,800 Speaker 1: upon whose account you believe, and he would eventually become 132 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:52,720 Speaker 1: the CEO of Uber for a short while before Kalinnik 133 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: took over that position and Graves would become involved in 134 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: the global development of the company, so his focus began 135 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:03,239 Speaker 1: to be um really directed at getting Uber into various 136 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: cities around the globe. But a very successful hire, and 137 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:11,680 Speaker 1: it's funny that it happened over Twitter. In July two 138 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 1: thousand ten, Uber would hit the streets of San Francisco. 139 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: Uber Cab was being called an on demand car service 140 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:21,160 Speaker 1: via the iPhone. There was no Android app at this point, 141 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:24,240 Speaker 1: and at this stage the service already used the phone 142 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:27,040 Speaker 1: to determine your location and to send a driver to you, 143 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:30,320 Speaker 1: or you can use the map within the app service 144 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:33,560 Speaker 1: itself to indicate an exact pickup location that your driver 145 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 1: would go to. Now, drivers in the area would be 146 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: alerted to your request, so when a driver accepts your request, 147 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 1: that request goes off the list, so that way you 148 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,679 Speaker 1: don't get multiple drivers all responding to the same request. 149 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:50,599 Speaker 1: The driver who accepted it then heads your way to 150 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 1: pick you up and take you to your destination, and 151 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:55,440 Speaker 1: you can rate the driver, and the driver can also 152 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: rate you too. You can give a review and the 153 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: driver can review you, so users who have low ratings 154 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:04,440 Speaker 1: might find that they aren't getting rides as easily as 155 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: other people. In other words, it pays to be nice 156 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,240 Speaker 1: to your driver, or at least not to be obnoxious 157 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:16,679 Speaker 1: and disruptive. In October, Uber Cab received a one point 158 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:21,360 Speaker 1: to five million dollars in an investment round, and that's 159 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:24,360 Speaker 1: also when the company would drop the cab from its 160 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:27,959 Speaker 1: name and just become Uber. But the company also got 161 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,599 Speaker 1: a cease and desist order from the Public Utilities Commission 162 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 1: of California, and the reason was because the organization accused 163 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: Uber of acting as a cab company without the proper 164 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:43,720 Speaker 1: licensing to do so. In other words, Uber was performing 165 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: a service that was identical to that of taxi cabs, 166 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,439 Speaker 1: but not having to obey the same rules that taxicabs 167 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:53,720 Speaker 1: did so for the time being, Uber had to be 168 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:57,480 Speaker 1: put out of commission in San Francisco uh In November 169 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:02,640 Speaker 1: twenty Uber becomes available for Android device, and in February eleven, 170 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 1: the company would receive eleven million dollars from another round 171 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:09,320 Speaker 1: of investments. A few months later, in May, Uber would 172 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: go live in New York City. In September eleven, Uber 173 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:16,679 Speaker 1: landed itself in some hot water with journalists. It was 174 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:19,480 Speaker 1: revealed that Uber has a sort of overview of the 175 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:22,400 Speaker 1: entire system within a region, and some people were calling 176 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 1: it the God view. It shows the names and locations 177 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:29,720 Speaker 1: of all the Uber users in that area. So remember 178 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: Uber is using the location data of your phone and 179 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 1: then broadcasts set to Uber so that drivers can find you. 180 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: But that also means that the system knows where you 181 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:44,000 Speaker 1: are when you are using the Uber app, So if 182 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:46,160 Speaker 1: you were able to access this view, you can see 183 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: where all the Uber users are in that area. It 184 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:52,079 Speaker 1: was meant to be an internal tool, but they did 185 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:54,680 Speaker 1: start showing it off in a party at Chicago, and 186 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:59,160 Speaker 1: that really started off some trouble. Also, one Uber executive 187 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:02,240 Speaker 1: apparently sent a message to a journalist who requested an 188 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:05,960 Speaker 1: Uber ride so because the Uber executive executive could see 189 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 1: where the journalist was and how the journalist was active, 190 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:11,960 Speaker 1: the executive sent a message saying, hey, won't you write 191 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:15,079 Speaker 1: a story about Uber. Essentially, they were using the god 192 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,160 Speaker 1: view to keep tabs on the journalist and that kind 193 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:23,400 Speaker 1: of backfired. UH. That seemed to be a violation of privacy, 194 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:25,560 Speaker 1: and since then Uber has said that it has placed 195 00:11:25,679 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 1: strict limits on who can view that particular data. So 196 00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:32,079 Speaker 1: this is not something that people can easily see now, 197 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 1: at least according to Uber. And Uber got another shot 198 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:40,680 Speaker 1: of investments in December eleven. They raised thirty seven million 199 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:45,960 Speaker 1: dollars and also launched service in Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Washington, 200 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 1: d C. And Paris. So they launched service in the 201 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:54,560 Speaker 1: city where the idea for Uber was first born. In 202 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:59,680 Speaker 1: April of twelve, Uber launched Uber x and that's what 203 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:03,000 Speaker 1: allows people to become Uber drivers using their own personal 204 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 1: vehicles at a lower rate than what you'd find with 205 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 1: a taxi or with other Uber services whey're using black 206 00:12:08,679 --> 00:12:13,240 Speaker 1: cars or SUVs or other upscale vehicles. The company also 207 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:15,760 Speaker 1: launched a feature in which you could use Uber to 208 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:20,280 Speaker 1: hail an official taxicab in markets like Chicago. So in 209 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:23,280 Speaker 1: some markets you can use Uber to get a regular 210 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 1: cab uh and uh instead of an Uber driver, and 211 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:29,360 Speaker 1: in some markets that actually makes sense. I'll talk more 212 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:33,640 Speaker 1: about that in a second. In November twelve, Uber caught 213 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,640 Speaker 1: some flack for its surge pricing, which had been an 214 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:40,400 Speaker 1: issue already. Surge pricing was really Uber's way and still 215 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:45,080 Speaker 1: is Uber's way of managing the balance between supply and demand. 216 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,360 Speaker 1: So if demand is really high, surge pricing kicks in 217 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:52,760 Speaker 1: and the price for Uber services goes up as well, 218 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,400 Speaker 1: at least until the supply ends up coming closer to 219 00:12:56,480 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 1: the demand. In other words, if the demand is really high, 220 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,040 Speaker 1: surge pricing goes up. Other Uber drivers might end up 221 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:06,200 Speaker 1: entering that area in order to take advantage of that 222 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:10,160 Speaker 1: surge pricing, because Uber drivers make more if the prices 223 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:14,559 Speaker 1: are higher. But as supply ends up meeting the same 224 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:18,440 Speaker 1: as demand, then the prices come down. It's very much 225 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:23,679 Speaker 1: reactive to that. Well. During emergency situations, the demand can 226 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:25,880 Speaker 1: be very high and supply can be very low, and 227 00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 1: that can end up creating a difficult and sometimes um 228 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:37,400 Speaker 1: well certainly discriminatory pricing in the wake of pretty awful situations, 229 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,040 Speaker 1: one of those being when Hurricane Sandy hit New York. 230 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:45,640 Speaker 1: It was a very severe weather pattern that moved through 231 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:49,120 Speaker 1: and hit New York much harder than anyone had anticipated, 232 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:53,320 Speaker 1: and as a result, surge prices went way up in 233 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:57,840 Speaker 1: New York after Sandy was moving through. Now Uber responded 234 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 1: by waiving the surge pricing for aids in the wake 235 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:04,520 Speaker 1: of Sandy, and they also let drivers take home the 236 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:09,040 Speaker 1: entire fair. Now Uber usually takes a commission off affairs. 237 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,079 Speaker 1: Typically in the early days it was something like twenty percent, 238 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 1: meaning the driver would have eight percent of what they 239 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:17,320 Speaker 1: made that day and the other twenty percent would go 240 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 1: to Uber. That has actually changed over time, and I'll 241 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:22,480 Speaker 1: get to that in a little bit. Around that same time, 242 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:27,160 Speaker 1: in two thousand twelve, late Uber was fined twenty thousand 243 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:31,760 Speaker 1: dollars by the California Public Utilities Commission CPUC, in other words, 244 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:36,600 Speaker 1: for operating an unlicensed taxi and limousine dispatch service. Those 245 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:39,560 Speaker 1: fines would never be collected upon because Uber and the 246 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:43,760 Speaker 1: Commission would strike a deal in early allowing Uber to 247 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:48,880 Speaker 1: operate in California in return for following certain regulations. In 248 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 1: the summer of the rival service, Lift was starting to 249 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 1: get in some serious attraction. They were really starting to 250 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:58,080 Speaker 1: take off. Lift had been around since twenty twelve, and 251 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:01,120 Speaker 1: Uber had also had to face a battle on many 252 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:04,000 Speaker 1: fronts as various cities and regions began to react to 253 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:08,920 Speaker 1: its business model and you know, protest moving into those markets. 254 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:12,160 Speaker 1: The company at that time was valued at three point 255 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: seven billion with a B dollars. In September, California would 256 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:21,920 Speaker 1: become the first state to regulate what is called ride 257 00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 1: sharing services. Here's where I take a moment to say, 258 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:29,239 Speaker 1: I don't like the idea of calling these ride sharing services. 259 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:32,000 Speaker 1: I think of ride sharing services as a means to 260 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:36,320 Speaker 1: allow people to car pool. In other words, so if 261 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:39,880 Speaker 1: I'm going to a concert maybe and I say, hey, 262 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:42,360 Speaker 1: I'm going to this concert. I've got a card seats 263 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:44,960 Speaker 1: about twenties, so come along and bring your jukebox money, 264 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:47,520 Speaker 1: people can put in an app saying hey, I'm also 265 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:49,120 Speaker 1: going to that concert. Can you pick me up? And 266 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:50,720 Speaker 1: if it's on my way, I can do that. I 267 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:53,840 Speaker 1: think of that as ride sharing. You are literally sharing 268 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 1: a ride, whereas with uber x you are using your 269 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 1: own personal vehicle. If you're an uber x dry, where 270 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,760 Speaker 1: you're using your own car to drive people around. That's 271 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 1: not really ride sharing. It's still kind of more like 272 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 1: hailing a cab. It's just in this case it's not 273 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:14,200 Speaker 1: a cab. It's someone's personal car. But it's not ride sharing. 274 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:17,080 Speaker 1: I would argue, in fact, I think this whole share 275 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: based economy is a misnomer. But that's an episode for 276 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:24,400 Speaker 1: another time. At any rate, California passes rules in two 277 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:29,080 Speaker 1: thousand thirteen in September that require Uber drivers and other 278 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,200 Speaker 1: drivers drivers of other services that are similar to Uber 279 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:36,080 Speaker 1: to undergo a criminal background check, They have to pass 280 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:38,800 Speaker 1: a training program, they have to obtain a permit from 281 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,880 Speaker 1: the CPUC before driving for any of those companies, and 282 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 1: the companies themselves have to offer insurance coverage of the vehicles, 283 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:50,040 Speaker 1: and that put Uber closer to the level of taxi service. 284 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:54,400 Speaker 1: And in addition, the CPUC demands one third of one 285 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:59,400 Speaker 1: percent of the total revenues as fees. UH the various 286 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:02,960 Speaker 1: cars are his companies saw this as a victory, the 287 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:08,840 Speaker 1: ability to have a legitimate claim to operating in those 288 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:13,040 Speaker 1: environments now. The following month, Uber made a deal with 289 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:17,639 Speaker 1: a few auto manufacturers like Toyota and GM, and also 290 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:21,320 Speaker 1: with auto financing companies to make it easier for prospective 291 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:25,000 Speaker 1: Uber drivers to get favorable financing rates on vehicles when 292 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:28,080 Speaker 1: purchasing a car. So this was a strategic move on 293 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:31,919 Speaker 1: Uber's part to attract more drivers to work with the 294 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:36,600 Speaker 1: service because they were seeing escalating demand in various markets 295 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:39,320 Speaker 1: and that meant that surge pricing was hitting all the 296 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:42,000 Speaker 1: time because there weren't enough drivers to meet that demand, 297 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,159 Speaker 1: and that meant that the people who were asking for 298 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:50,159 Speaker 1: rides were getting these crazy surge prices tacked on, and 299 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:51,960 Speaker 1: they didn't like that. They didn't want to take the 300 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:55,439 Speaker 1: they didn't want to use the service because why use 301 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:57,800 Speaker 1: a service that's so much more expensive than just taking 302 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:01,240 Speaker 1: a cab. So there was a real incentive on Uber's 303 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 1: part to get more drivers into these markets in order 304 00:18:04,119 --> 00:18:07,800 Speaker 1: to meet the demand that was already there. So they 305 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:12,240 Speaker 1: ended up making these partnerships, and Klinik said that a 306 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:15,359 Speaker 1: fully utilized vehicle on Uber would grows more than a 307 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:20,080 Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollars per year. Later estimations had at a 308 00:18:20,119 --> 00:18:22,440 Speaker 1: lower rate, but at this time he said about a 309 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:24,800 Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollars per year if it was quote unquote 310 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: fully utilized. What that means I don't know, I imagine 311 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:32,560 Speaker 1: at least forty hours a week. But using that information 312 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:37,720 Speaker 1: and coming from Kalinnick himself, UH, the car financing companies 313 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: in the car manufacturers were able to leverage and or 314 00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:46,000 Speaker 1: able to look at better deals for prospective Uber drivers. 315 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:47,760 Speaker 1: So if you wanted to drive for Uber and you 316 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,920 Speaker 1: went forward trying to purchase a car this way, you 317 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,520 Speaker 1: would actually get really favorable rates. And klin Nick estimated 318 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:57,440 Speaker 1: that the preferential rates would actually result in a hundred 319 00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:01,159 Speaker 1: to two hundred dollars in savings on car ements per month. 320 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:06,520 Speaker 1: So having less to pay was a big incentive if 321 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:09,280 Speaker 1: you were already thinking about driving, and keeping in mind 322 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:11,800 Speaker 1: that these Uber x drivers are using their own vehicles, 323 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:15,360 Speaker 1: they have to purchase those vehicles and maintain those vehicles, 324 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:20,160 Speaker 1: so this was a necessary incentive. In March two thousand fourteen, 325 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 1: Uber announced an insurance plan that would cover drivers when 326 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 1: there are no passengers in the car, and this would 327 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:30,000 Speaker 1: be an extension of personal coverage that drivers were already 328 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,400 Speaker 1: required to have in order to be an Uber x driver, 329 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:35,160 Speaker 1: So this was to kind of add a little more 330 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 1: protection to those drivers. This this was in the wake 331 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:42,080 Speaker 1: of some pretty tragic circumstances where an Uber driver struck 332 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:48,400 Speaker 1: and killed a pedestrian. Very tragic story, but Uber had 333 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:52,119 Speaker 1: maintained that the the incident when it happened, the Uber 334 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:55,200 Speaker 1: driver was not carrying a fair nor was the Uber 335 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:59,000 Speaker 1: driver responding to a fair request at that exact moment. 336 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:03,959 Speaker 1: In May two thousand fourteen, Travis Kalinnik spoke at the 337 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:08,679 Speaker 1: CODE Conference and revealed Uber's long term plan is to 338 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:12,080 Speaker 1: switch to autonomous vehicles, which we mean they would replace 339 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:15,880 Speaker 1: human drivers, the cars would drive themselves. He talked about 340 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:18,880 Speaker 1: the future in which car ownership would be increasingly rare, 341 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:22,879 Speaker 1: particularly for dense urban environments, and in those places, instead 342 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:24,880 Speaker 1: of owning a car, you just call for a car 343 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:27,639 Speaker 1: whenever you needed one, and it would arrive within thirty 344 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:29,600 Speaker 1: seconds and then take you to where you're you needed 345 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:32,520 Speaker 1: to be efficiently and safely, and you wouldn't need a 346 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:36,560 Speaker 1: space for your own car, because why would you ever 347 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:38,840 Speaker 1: own one. You you could have that space set aside 348 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 1: for something else, And cars usually sit idle like nine 349 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:46,399 Speaker 1: percent of the time. You aren't in your car that 350 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,920 Speaker 1: frequently in the grand scheme of things, So why would 351 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:53,120 Speaker 1: you pay for something that you only use ten percent? 352 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:55,520 Speaker 1: Of the time you own it and you have to 353 00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,000 Speaker 1: pay for the place to keep it, especially if you're 354 00:20:58,000 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 1: in a living in a place like New York City, 355 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:02,919 Speaker 1: where the payment for a car parking spot might be 356 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,879 Speaker 1: the same as an apartment in other parts of the world. 357 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:12,240 Speaker 1: So it's a pretty powerful argument. Uh. It also suggests 358 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:15,840 Speaker 1: that Uber is not terribly concerned with what their drivers 359 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:18,280 Speaker 1: think of the the company in the long term, but 360 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:22,119 Speaker 1: the public image of Uber has been something of a 361 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:29,880 Speaker 1: problem area for its entire existence. Anyway, This only makes sense, obviously, 362 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,360 Speaker 1: if the amount you would spend on car rides through 363 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:35,680 Speaker 1: the service would be less than what you would spend 364 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:39,679 Speaker 1: on the ownership and maintenance of a vehicle. So I 365 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:41,720 Speaker 1: guess in the very long run, if you were to 366 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:45,359 Speaker 1: keep a car for a very very long time, then 367 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:48,000 Speaker 1: you could argue that the personal car ownership makes more 368 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 1: sense because you are getting the most out of that vehicle, 369 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:54,760 Speaker 1: and that's less common today than it was twenty years ago. 370 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:57,240 Speaker 1: So I don't know that you can make that argument 371 00:21:57,240 --> 00:21:59,920 Speaker 1: as effectively today at any rate. Klan Nick says the 372 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:02,239 Speaker 1: real reality of such a day is quite a long 373 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:06,840 Speaker 1: ways off, but it is inevitable we will get there. 374 00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:10,600 Speaker 1: And this address that he gave at the CODE conference 375 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:12,960 Speaker 1: came not long after Uber had released a report that 376 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,760 Speaker 1: claimed Uber drivers would make much more money than cab 377 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:19,800 Speaker 1: drivers would now. According to that report, a cab driver's 378 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:22,680 Speaker 1: salary was around the thirty thousand dollar per year mark, 379 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:24,960 Speaker 1: and Uber said the median wage for a New York 380 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,800 Speaker 1: based Uber x driver who works at least forty hours 381 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:31,920 Speaker 1: per week is ninety thousand, seven d sixty six dollars 382 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:35,840 Speaker 1: per year. In San Francisco it was seventy four thousand 383 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:40,439 Speaker 1: dollars per years. So obviously the amount you make was 384 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:45,119 Speaker 1: relied heavily upon where you actually work, and that doesn't 385 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 1: factor into account the expenses the driver would incur in 386 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: owning and operating and maintaining that vehicle. So those those 387 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,840 Speaker 1: figures don't indicate like how much did the car cost, 388 00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:59,280 Speaker 1: how much did it cost to fuel the vehicle or 389 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:01,520 Speaker 1: park the vehic goal when you weren't using it, or 390 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:04,199 Speaker 1: just take it in for tuneups. None of that is 391 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 1: factored into that that revenue, so keep that in mind too. 392 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:11,720 Speaker 1: In June two thousand fourteen, Uber announced another round of funding. 393 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,400 Speaker 1: In that time, it was truly huge, as in one 394 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:18,960 Speaker 1: point to billion dollars, and at that point the company 395 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:23,720 Speaker 1: was valued at seventeen billion dollars, so definitely on a 396 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:28,320 Speaker 1: stress spurc rise and we're not done yet. In August 397 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 1: two thousand fourteen, that's when we had the the publication 398 00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:36,720 Speaker 1: of all the stories of the great Uber versus Left war. 399 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:41,359 Speaker 1: So during August we started seeing lots of reports of 400 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:46,480 Speaker 1: one side accusing the other shenanigans. Most of the accusations 401 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:51,320 Speaker 1: were from Left against Uber and had the added up 402 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:56,639 Speaker 1: of internal memos to support the allegations. Left executives accused 403 00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:01,919 Speaker 1: Uber of running a campaign designed to sabotage lifts operations. 404 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: So the accusation said that Uber drivers had been using 405 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 1: Lift to call for rides and then to cancel them, 406 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,160 Speaker 1: which would tie up drivers and make them frustrated as 407 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:14,600 Speaker 1: they failed to get fares. At the same time, Uber 408 00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:18,800 Speaker 1: was accused of beginning a campaign to lure lift drivers 409 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:22,639 Speaker 1: away from Lift to work for Uber instead. Now Uber 410 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:26,800 Speaker 1: claims that lift drivers were also calling and canceling rides, 411 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:30,159 Speaker 1: and in greater numbers than the other way around, And 412 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:33,560 Speaker 1: the fight got really super ugly. And it's not exactly 413 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:38,000 Speaker 1: done yet, but boy, that was some nasty press that 414 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:42,080 Speaker 1: came out at during that time. Also in August, Uber 415 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:46,360 Speaker 1: hired David Pluff and I'm probably butchering his last name, 416 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:49,680 Speaker 1: but as a lobbyist to help push for favorable changes 417 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:52,679 Speaker 1: in regulations and laws that could give Uber a place 418 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 1: in the market. He had formerly been a campaign manager 419 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,639 Speaker 1: for President Obama, so it was very well versed in 420 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:04,760 Speaker 1: the world of politics. In November two thousand fourteen, Emil Michaels, 421 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:07,399 Speaker 1: who was a senior vice president still is at Uber, 422 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:11,520 Speaker 1: suggested digging up dirt on journalists who published stories that 423 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:14,359 Speaker 1: are critical of Uber. In other words, he seemed to 424 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:19,000 Speaker 1: suggest using blackmail to silence critics, and kalin Nick would 425 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:22,919 Speaker 1: eventually apologize for Michael's remarks, but he wasn't fired or 426 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,160 Speaker 1: demoted as a result of them, which made a lot 427 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:29,480 Speaker 1: of people really angry. By the end of two thousand fourteen, 428 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:34,920 Speaker 1: Uber was valued at forty billion dollars, so twice as 429 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:38,359 Speaker 1: much from the previous year. Uber is also banned in 430 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:42,080 Speaker 1: Spain and Thailand, the reason given that the service is 431 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:46,280 Speaker 1: unfair to other businesses, the taxi business in other words, 432 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:50,080 Speaker 1: and Holland would ban Uber Pop, which is the UH 433 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:55,159 Speaker 1: the European version of Uber X, but Holland would continue 434 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:59,320 Speaker 1: to allow other versions of Uber to operate within the country. Portland, 435 00:25:59,359 --> 00:26:02,640 Speaker 1: Oregon sued to shut down Uber when it launched there, 436 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,920 Speaker 1: because of course it did. In December fourteen, and Uber 437 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:11,280 Speaker 1: driver was charged with kidnapping and raping and Uber customer, 438 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:17,200 Speaker 1: which absolutely horrifying story. And this isn't the only instance 439 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:20,680 Speaker 1: of an Uber employee being accused of something so heinous 440 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:24,840 Speaker 1: as as rape. It's unfortunately happened a few times. At 441 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:27,600 Speaker 1: least the charges have been levied a few times. UM. 442 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:31,440 Speaker 1: A Florida driver was charged with assaulting a female passenger. 443 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:34,320 Speaker 1: There were a couple of instances in Chicago, one in 444 00:26:34,359 --> 00:26:36,800 Speaker 1: which an uber x driver was accused of sexually assaulting 445 00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:40,399 Speaker 1: a female passenger, and a different Uber x driver in 446 00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:46,879 Speaker 1: Chicago was charged with sexual assault UM in January for 447 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 1: attacking a male passenger. Also in January, a criminal trial 448 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:54,200 Speaker 1: began for an Uber driver in India who was accused 449 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:58,639 Speaker 1: of rape, and in February, a Boston driver was charged 450 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:03,320 Speaker 1: with indecent assault and battery. So partially as a response 451 00:27:03,359 --> 00:27:06,479 Speaker 1: to the driver assaults on passengers, Uber institute a measure 452 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:10,440 Speaker 1: that was found originally in the Indian version of its 453 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:13,760 Speaker 1: app uh this was a panic button that they they 454 00:27:14,359 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 1: enacted in Chicago. That panic button alerts police if the 455 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:22,520 Speaker 1: writer feels threatened while inside the vehicle. They also announced 456 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:26,960 Speaker 1: that they were going to institute much more um strict 457 00:27:27,359 --> 00:27:32,280 Speaker 1: criminal background checks before hiring on any drivers. So this 458 00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:37,639 Speaker 1: has been an incredibly negative story, obviously for obvious reasons. 459 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,840 Speaker 1: You never want to have a company that's a service 460 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:46,240 Speaker 1: oriented company putting customers at risk, clearly, and Uber has 461 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:49,800 Speaker 1: been you know, responsive to it. But there have been 462 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:51,800 Speaker 1: a lot of critics who said that the company has 463 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,120 Speaker 1: not done enough, nor has it done it quickly enough, 464 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:58,720 Speaker 1: nor has it been responsible because this should never have 465 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:02,720 Speaker 1: happened in the first place. So again Uber's public image 466 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:07,880 Speaker 1: is taking a beating. Wouldn't be the last time. In February, 467 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:10,679 Speaker 1: Uber revealed that a hacker had gained access to its 468 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:17,320 Speaker 1: database in sometime, but it was waiting until reveal this 469 00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:20,240 Speaker 1: information really as part of the investigation that the company 470 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:23,600 Speaker 1: needed to be quiet. The database contained the names and 471 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:27,760 Speaker 1: driver's licensed numbers of around fifty thousand Uber drivers, so 472 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:31,200 Speaker 1: potentially the hacker got access to all of that information. 473 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,080 Speaker 1: Of course, they don't really know, or at least They 474 00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:37,400 Speaker 1: haven't released all the info that the hacker did access, 475 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:42,240 Speaker 1: but it's potentially that much. In April, researchers at the 476 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:45,040 Speaker 1: University of Cambridge and the University of Namur, which is 477 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:49,520 Speaker 1: in Belgium, I believe, combined, they combed through mountains of 478 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:53,040 Speaker 1: data fromteen to compare the cost of trips taken in 479 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:56,240 Speaker 1: New York City on uber X and compare that to 480 00:28:56,400 --> 00:29:01,760 Speaker 1: trips in traditional yellow cabs. They wanted to see do 481 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 1: you actually save money by taking uber X and guess 482 00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:09,720 Speaker 1: what you don't? Necessarily, They found that taxis were actually, 483 00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:13,560 Speaker 1: on average a dollar and forty cents cheaper than uber 484 00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:17,280 Speaker 1: X trips as long as the overall price was thirty 485 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:20,680 Speaker 1: five dollars or less, meaning that it was a relatively 486 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:24,400 Speaker 1: short cab trip. They found that on longer trips, where 487 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:27,920 Speaker 1: the full price would be thirty five or more, or 488 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:30,800 Speaker 1: rather more than thirty five dollars, the uber cars became 489 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:34,200 Speaker 1: more competitive. Uh, it's just on the short trips cabs 490 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:37,080 Speaker 1: were on the whole cheaper. Then again, you don't tip 491 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:40,560 Speaker 1: uber drivers, but it is customary to tip cab drivers, 492 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:42,880 Speaker 1: so it could be that once you factor in the tip, 493 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:48,000 Speaker 1: the difference in prices is negligible. Uh. In fact, a 494 00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:51,520 Speaker 1: lot of the the scenarios I saw ended up having 495 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:55,000 Speaker 1: the overall price of a cab trip being maybe fifty 496 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:57,640 Speaker 1: cents more than an Uber trip, So it's it may 497 00:29:57,680 --> 00:30:00,640 Speaker 1: be that it doesn't really make a grand and difference 498 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:04,200 Speaker 1: in the in in the big picture. Now, that discovery 499 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:07,640 Speaker 1: actually led to the development of another app called Open 500 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:10,760 Speaker 1: Street Cab, which lets you compare the estimated rates of 501 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:13,880 Speaker 1: any particular trip between a cab and Uber X. And 502 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:15,960 Speaker 1: the goal would be to build an app that automatically 503 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,760 Speaker 1: recommends which service you use on any given trip. So, 504 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:21,400 Speaker 1: in other words, you would open up this app, tell 505 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:23,760 Speaker 1: you tell the app where you wanted to be picked up, 506 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:26,720 Speaker 1: where you were going, and then it would estimate how 507 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:29,520 Speaker 1: much you would spend on either service, keeping in mind 508 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:36,080 Speaker 1: Uber's algorithmic searge pricing. Obviously, during a high surge price, 509 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:37,960 Speaker 1: it would be much cheaper to take a cab because 510 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:42,520 Speaker 1: cabs don't have surge prices. In June two thousand fifteen, 511 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:47,080 Speaker 1: Parisian taxi drivers began to protest and they were violent 512 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:50,160 Speaker 1: about it. I mean, there was some violent protesting in 513 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:52,680 Speaker 1: the streets of Paris, and it was all about Uber 514 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:56,360 Speaker 1: pop again that equipal, that European equivalent of Uber X. 515 00:30:57,160 --> 00:31:00,040 Speaker 1: Part of this reason what was that the taxi drivers 516 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:03,560 Speaker 1: in Paris work in a highly regulated business and the 517 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:06,840 Speaker 1: Uber drivers aren't subjected to the same restrictions that the 518 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:09,680 Speaker 1: taxi drivers are, which creates what the taxi drivers see 519 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:14,760 Speaker 1: as an unfair market. I've seen some common some folks 520 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:17,880 Speaker 1: common on this saying that the problem is that taxis 521 00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:22,200 Speaker 1: are an outdated form of business. They are based upon 522 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:27,680 Speaker 1: regulations that no longer really are applicable. And the real 523 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:30,760 Speaker 1: issue here is that you're looking at an outmoded form 524 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:35,240 Speaker 1: of business and comparing it to the new emerging business 525 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:38,480 Speaker 1: as opposed to the new emerging business needs to adhere 526 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:40,800 Speaker 1: to the rules of the old business. But whatever your 527 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:45,120 Speaker 1: perspective is, there was clearly a disagreement here. And in 528 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:48,760 Speaker 1: July two thousand fifteen, Steve Jerviston, who is a member 529 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:52,440 Speaker 1: of the board for the company Tesla, said that kla 530 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 1: Nick had made a pretty bold statement and had said 531 00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:58,560 Speaker 1: that if Tesla could build a fully functional electric autonomous 532 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:04,160 Speaker 1: car by twenty Uber would purchase half a million of them. 533 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:08,160 Speaker 1: Now that would be every single vehicle Tesla would make 534 00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:11,120 Speaker 1: in that year. Because that's about how many cars Tesla 535 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:14,400 Speaker 1: makes New Year's half a million. So essentially, call Nick 536 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:17,600 Speaker 1: was saying, if you can make an electric autonomous vehicle 537 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:21,680 Speaker 1: in I will buy every single one of them. Now, 538 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:24,960 Speaker 1: that would be incredibly transformative. It would impact taxi drivers 539 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:29,200 Speaker 1: and Uber drivers alike because according to one study, if 540 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:34,000 Speaker 1: you had nine thousand electric autonomous vehicles, you could replace 541 00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:38,600 Speaker 1: all of the yellow cabs in New York City. That's 542 00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:43,440 Speaker 1: about thirteen thousand, five hundred medallions. Medallions are the essentially 543 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:46,960 Speaker 1: the authorization to operate a vehicle as a cab. Now 544 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:52,120 Speaker 1: that's in Manhattan really mostly Lower Manhattan. But those nine 545 00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:56,240 Speaker 1: thousand vehicles would replace thirteen thousand, five hundred vehicles, so 546 00:32:56,280 --> 00:33:00,160 Speaker 1: you would remove more than four thousand vehicles from the road, 547 00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:04,760 Speaker 1: from the streets of Manhattan. So traffic would decrease because 548 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:08,080 Speaker 1: of that. Uh, the arguably you would have a much 549 00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:11,520 Speaker 1: safer environment because electric autonomous vehicles would be able to 550 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:16,040 Speaker 1: respond much more quickly than human operated vehicles. There are 551 00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:20,200 Speaker 1: a lot of benefits to this. So let's say that 552 00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:24,920 Speaker 1: Uber bought five hundred thousand electric autonomous vehicles. Imagine how 553 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:28,560 Speaker 1: many different regions they could impact. With that, if nine 554 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:32,120 Speaker 1: thousand would be enough to affect Manhattan, keep in mind 555 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:37,400 Speaker 1: the yellow cabs of Manhattan carry about four five thousand 556 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:42,400 Speaker 1: fairs in an average day. Just imagine transforming all the 557 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:45,880 Speaker 1: different markets out there with five hundred thousand of these cars. 558 00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:49,400 Speaker 1: You could make a huge impact across the entire United States, 559 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:54,400 Speaker 1: assuming of course, that it was legal to operate autonomous 560 00:33:54,520 --> 00:33:58,360 Speaker 1: vehicles as taxis in those states. It would also mean 561 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:01,400 Speaker 1: that Uber would be making a more money for the 562 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:04,000 Speaker 1: company itself because it would be taking It would take 563 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:07,880 Speaker 1: a hundred percent of the fairs as opposed to twenty. 564 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:13,520 Speaker 1: Now here's some other points about cabs versus Uber in 565 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:16,440 Speaker 1: New York City. Slayton had a piece about Uber and 566 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:19,799 Speaker 1: New York and talked about how it didn't matter that 567 00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:21,920 Speaker 1: there are more Uber drivers in New York City than 568 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:24,560 Speaker 1: there are cab drivers. That was one of those stories 569 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:29,040 Speaker 1: that was capturing a lot of attention because you know, 570 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:32,200 Speaker 1: people were using that as an argument to say, this 571 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:37,120 Speaker 1: new disruptive business is threatening this older business that has 572 00:34:37,160 --> 00:34:42,320 Speaker 1: been established and regulated over the past several decades. Slate 573 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:46,319 Speaker 1: pointed out that this there was a huge disparity in 574 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:50,799 Speaker 1: the number of trips between yellow cabs and Uber. So 575 00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:52,719 Speaker 1: even though there are more Uber drivers in New York 576 00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:56,560 Speaker 1: City than there are cab drivers, the cab drivers are 577 00:34:56,600 --> 00:35:01,480 Speaker 1: taking way more of the fares again, thousand on average 578 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:06,040 Speaker 1: per day. Uber is closer to thirty four thousand. They 579 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:09,880 Speaker 1: also say, well, you know that there's this argument about 580 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:12,359 Speaker 1: how you can make a really good salaries an Uber 581 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:14,120 Speaker 1: driver in New York. All you have to do is 582 00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:17,080 Speaker 1: work forty or more hours a week. It turns out 583 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:20,080 Speaker 1: that nearly all the drivers in New York who are 584 00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:24,880 Speaker 1: Uber drivers are driving significantly fewer hours than that of 585 00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:28,120 Speaker 1: New York's Uber drivers work between one and fifteen hours 586 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:31,840 Speaker 1: per week, and another thirty five percent are driving between 587 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:35,439 Speaker 1: sixteen and thirty four hours. So the vast majority are 588 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:38,200 Speaker 1: driving fewer than forty hours per week. They're not making 589 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:42,960 Speaker 1: that ninety thousand dollars that was quoted earlier. Um. In 590 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:46,200 Speaker 1: other words, most of them are working as Uber drivers 591 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:49,120 Speaker 1: as a part time job, not a full time gig. 592 00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:52,120 Speaker 1: And of course there's some other issues. Ubers come under 593 00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:54,920 Speaker 1: fire from multiple fronts. Uh they are the commissions and 594 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:58,720 Speaker 1: unions that represent existing businesses that oppose Uber for various reasons, 595 00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:01,800 Speaker 1: from charges of fair competition to pointing out that Uber 596 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:04,640 Speaker 1: needs to fall under the same rules as other services 597 00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:07,120 Speaker 1: that are in that space. There are also problems that 598 00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:10,360 Speaker 1: Uber has experienced with instances of drivers engaged in criminal 599 00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:13,600 Speaker 1: and violent behavior. I mean, obviously that is a huge issue, 600 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:17,400 Speaker 1: and they're the criticisms about how Uber isn't responding to 601 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:21,799 Speaker 1: calls to increase accessibility for people who suffer from disabilities. 602 00:36:22,239 --> 00:36:26,160 Speaker 1: So folks who have like you know, like people who 603 00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:29,960 Speaker 1: are bound to wheelchairs, they're having a harder time finding 604 00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:34,400 Speaker 1: Uber drivers that have vehicles equipped to handle that. So ideally, 605 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:37,840 Speaker 1: in the future, Uber would have it built into the 606 00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:40,640 Speaker 1: app so that you could request this from the very 607 00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:45,759 Speaker 1: beginning and still have very fast response times. Obviously that's 608 00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:47,480 Speaker 1: going to take a lot of time, especially when you're 609 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:50,560 Speaker 1: factor in Uber x, which require you know, has people 610 00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:53,799 Speaker 1: driving their own personal vehicles. Uh, there's an incentive for 611 00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:56,800 Speaker 1: them to have a vehicle that could accommodate someone who's 612 00:36:56,800 --> 00:37:00,560 Speaker 1: in a wheelchair, but that's not inexpensive and it's not 613 00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:04,120 Speaker 1: necessarily practical for all people who want to drive Uber X. 614 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:07,600 Speaker 1: So that's a real problem. I mean that accessibility is 615 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:09,600 Speaker 1: a very big issue that needs to be answered. I mean, 616 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:13,799 Speaker 1: obviously you would not want to switch to Uber UH 617 00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:17,800 Speaker 1: and and have that be your only means of mass 618 00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:22,080 Speaker 1: transit for a given region if they weren't also accessible 619 00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:25,960 Speaker 1: for all people. There's also an ongoing public image problem 620 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:28,279 Speaker 1: of how much the fair, how much of the fair 621 00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:31,440 Speaker 1: the company takes versus how much goes to drivers. UH. 622 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:33,640 Speaker 1: It was a big deal when Uber moved from twenty 623 00:37:33,719 --> 00:37:36,520 Speaker 1: percent to twenty percent in San Francisco. They used San 624 00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:38,360 Speaker 1: Francisco as kind of a testing grounds for that, and 625 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:42,040 Speaker 1: that was that was huge. Then in May, Uber announced 626 00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:45,840 Speaker 1: it would experiment with a tiered approach as a commission 627 00:37:45,920 --> 00:37:48,040 Speaker 1: for fairs. So in other words, it would be a 628 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:51,120 Speaker 1: thirty percent take for the first twenty rides in a week, 629 00:37:51,239 --> 00:37:53,640 Speaker 1: the company would take thirty percent of the fairs and 630 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:56,600 Speaker 1: the driver would take home the other seventy they're paid 631 00:37:56,840 --> 00:38:01,480 Speaker 1: weekly by the way. Then after the twenty rides it 632 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:05,600 Speaker 1: would dip down to commission for the next twenty rides, 633 00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:09,879 Speaker 1: so from to forty the company would take of the fair. 634 00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:13,520 Speaker 1: Then after that it would drop to for all rides 635 00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:15,960 Speaker 1: until the end of the week. And keep in mind 636 00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:18,800 Speaker 1: that standard used to be for Uber x drivers across 637 00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:21,319 Speaker 1: the board, whether it was the first trip or the 638 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:26,040 Speaker 1: forty one trip. Then there's the surge pricing. This is 639 00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:28,879 Speaker 1: one of those things that definitely has received a lot 640 00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:33,480 Speaker 1: of press, particularly in instances where people have been charged 641 00:38:33,640 --> 00:38:38,160 Speaker 1: huge amounts of money because the surge pricing was enormous, 642 00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:41,640 Speaker 1: like twenty times what the normal rate would be. So 643 00:38:41,719 --> 00:38:44,920 Speaker 1: search pricing kicks in during times of high demand. The 644 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:48,680 Speaker 1: higher prices encourage are are supposed to encourage more Uber 645 00:38:48,760 --> 00:38:52,000 Speaker 1: drivers to hit the streets, so that way the supply 646 00:38:52,560 --> 00:38:54,719 Speaker 1: begins to catch up with the demand. As long as 647 00:38:54,760 --> 00:38:58,040 Speaker 1: the supply is meeting the demand, surge pricing isn't an issue. 648 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:00,799 Speaker 1: It's when you have a lot of people asking for 649 00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:03,080 Speaker 1: rides in a particular part of town and there aren't 650 00:39:03,160 --> 00:39:07,320 Speaker 1: enough drivers. That's when search pricing kicks in. Uh. But 651 00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:11,799 Speaker 1: a Washington Post article written by Nicholas Dia Couplus postulates 652 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:14,880 Speaker 1: that search pricing really all it does is to redistribute 653 00:39:15,080 --> 00:39:18,320 Speaker 1: the concentration of drivers in an area. It doesn't really 654 00:39:18,640 --> 00:39:22,759 Speaker 1: create an incentive for more drivers to go active. Uh. Now, 655 00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:26,480 Speaker 1: it does decrease demand because youwer people are willing to 656 00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:28,600 Speaker 1: pay a high price for cars. So if you if 657 00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:32,560 Speaker 1: you realize that there's a multiplayer put on there. And 658 00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:34,960 Speaker 1: by the way, the app does tell you there have 659 00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:37,400 Speaker 1: been many times where I've looked at the the searge 660 00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:40,600 Speaker 1: pricing the four point five times the regular price, and no, 661 00:39:40,719 --> 00:39:43,040 Speaker 1: it's not worth that to me. You can actually tell 662 00:39:43,040 --> 00:39:46,520 Speaker 1: in the app, Hey, alert me when search prices come 663 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:48,640 Speaker 1: to an end, when it's back to its normal amount. 664 00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:53,240 Speaker 1: But that's that shows that search pricing can decrease demand, 665 00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:56,799 Speaker 1: so that can space out how many people need to 666 00:39:56,920 --> 00:39:59,240 Speaker 1: use or want to use the service in a given 667 00:39:59,239 --> 00:40:02,600 Speaker 1: area in a given time, and as that demand decreases, 668 00:40:02,640 --> 00:40:05,520 Speaker 1: the search pricing decreases as well. So you can actually 669 00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:08,280 Speaker 1: see this price fluctuate quite a bit within a pretty 670 00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:11,960 Speaker 1: crowded area. Search prices place a multiplayer on the base 671 00:40:12,040 --> 00:40:14,879 Speaker 1: cost of a trip, and that might so a trip 672 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:17,759 Speaker 1: that might cost ten dollars on an average day could 673 00:40:17,840 --> 00:40:20,880 Speaker 1: end up being fifty dollars or more in a heavy 674 00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:24,680 Speaker 1: demand uh time frame. And there are a lot of 675 00:40:24,719 --> 00:40:27,400 Speaker 1: horror stories out there about people who didn't realize that 676 00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:29,680 Speaker 1: they were arranging a ride at peak demand, and we're 677 00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:33,560 Speaker 1: charged enormous amounts for that. Right again, if you pay attention, 678 00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:37,239 Speaker 1: you can pretty much tell what's gonna happen, but it 679 00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:39,920 Speaker 1: does require you to pay attention. Usually you can just 680 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:42,040 Speaker 1: wait a few minutes and the pricing will adjust. But 681 00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:45,520 Speaker 1: that volatility does mean there's not a big incentive for 682 00:40:45,600 --> 00:40:48,200 Speaker 1: more drivers to hit the roads. This is why we 683 00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:51,360 Speaker 1: usually see it as a means of redistributing the the 684 00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:55,440 Speaker 1: concentration of drivers in an area, rather than increasing an 685 00:40:55,440 --> 00:40:58,640 Speaker 1: influx of new drivers. Like if you are an Uber 686 00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:01,800 Speaker 1: X driver and you see a message that surge pricing 687 00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:05,840 Speaker 1: is in effect, and you think I could make some money. 688 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:08,960 Speaker 1: By the time you get to your car started up, 689 00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:11,200 Speaker 1: hit the road and go to pick up your first fair, 690 00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:14,440 Speaker 1: that surge pricing may be over because it's so volable, 691 00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:17,120 Speaker 1: it changes so quickly, so it can't really be an 692 00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:20,560 Speaker 1: incentive to get more people on the streets. Well, guys, 693 00:41:20,560 --> 00:41:23,200 Speaker 1: that kind of wraps up the Uber story so far. 694 00:41:23,600 --> 00:41:26,640 Speaker 1: I mean there's a lot more to cover, including this 695 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:31,080 Speaker 1: idea of a fleet of robo cars taking you wherever 696 00:41:31,120 --> 00:41:33,160 Speaker 1: you want to go. But in order to cover that, 697 00:41:33,320 --> 00:41:36,319 Speaker 1: I asked Scott Benjamin to join me. So in our 698 00:41:36,320 --> 00:41:39,320 Speaker 1: next episode you'll hear Scott and I talk about this 699 00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:44,040 Speaker 1: idea and the pros and cons and what Scott thinks 700 00:41:44,080 --> 00:41:47,200 Speaker 1: about a world in which we may not have human 701 00:41:47,360 --> 00:41:52,520 Speaker 1: operated vehicles anymore. It's so much fun to break that 702 00:41:52,600 --> 00:41:55,360 Speaker 1: news to them. Anyway, you need to tune in for 703 00:41:55,520 --> 00:41:57,799 Speaker 1: the next episode to hear that. In the meantime, if 704 00:41:57,800 --> 00:41:59,960 Speaker 1: you have any suggestions for future topics that I can 705 00:42:00,120 --> 00:42:02,560 Speaker 1: tackle here on tex Stuff, you should write me. My 706 00:42:02,680 --> 00:42:06,080 Speaker 1: email address is tech Stuff at all stuffworks dot Com, 707 00:42:06,160 --> 00:42:09,520 Speaker 1: or dropped me a message on Twitter or Facebook the 708 00:42:09,640 --> 00:42:12,719 Speaker 1: handle words tech stuff hs W, and I'll talk to 709 00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:21,920 Speaker 1: you again really soon for more on this embattens and 710 00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:33,120 Speaker 1: other topics because it has stop works dot com