Our world is filled with contradictions. Parents are so overprotective that
they don't allow their children to walk to school alone anymore. When I was
a kid, I used buses and subways to travel around New York City. People tell
me that the world is more dangerous now. I doubt that. But in this newly
dangerous world, parents somehow feel comfortable allowing their kids to
book rides with strangers just because the rides are booked through apps
and because the strangers are supposedly screened?
Miriam
________________________________
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Alice Dampman
Humel
Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2015 11:10 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] article about other than Uber
Hi, all,
saw this on another list.
This is at least partially the kind of challenge to the taxi industry and
expansion of ride sharing into something better that might be possible.
I will admit that the statistic about Uber being worth $50 billion was a bit
of an unpleasant shocker!
http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/four-new-apps-give-uber-a-run-for-its-79576
/?utm_source=JD-Supra-eMail-Digests
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.jdsupra.com_legalne
ws_four-2Dnew-2Dapps-2Dgive-2Duber-2Da-2Drun-2Dfor-2Dits-2D79576_-3Futm-5Fso
urce-3DJD-2DSupra-2DeMail-2DDigests&d=BQMFaQ&c=cBOA5YEoZuz9KdLvh38YxdrPtfJt8
3ckXekfBgq5xB0&r=CK8oOj7-JYZnTDmB5orNTVZXar6NrsnGtGHfQ5m79Do&m=_swJnSO9ht121
0XDbVoD3IlFwGGnKktFryOKwzXcG2M&s=ROTRnxccX8_J-_HJ-JQji8BOFbeQNNNAsuxCCvCvXfw
&e=>
Four New Apps Give Uber a Run for its Money
In the realm of ridesharing, Uber reigns supreme, with an independent
valuation of $50 billion that dwarfs not just all its competitors, but every
other privately held company in the world. Yet the innovations it has
spurned in ridesharing have attracted a new batch of competitors who are
trying to fill voids in the company's business plan. Three new apps, and a
new use for Google's Waze app, show some early indications of what
competitors might offer in this newly emerging market.
Starting on Monday, Google's Waze navigation app began utilizing Ridewith
technology to allow carpoolers to find one another
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cnet.com_news_googl
es-2Dwaze-2Dfuels-2Dup-2Dcarpooling-2Dalternative_&d=BQMFaQ&c=cBOA5YEoZuz9Kd
Lvh38YxdrPtfJt83ckXekfBgq5xB0&r=CK8oOj7-JYZnTDmB5orNTVZXar6NrsnGtGHfQ5m79Do&
m=_swJnSO9ht1210XDbVoD3IlFwGGnKktFryOKwzXcG2M&s=n8PfSDfrjmkNcYOjPfWfvQ6EUGEh
TNISdBP9cJToVk0&e=> . Unlike Uber and other on-demand ride services,
Ridewith is not contracting any drivers, or hiring anyone on the streets to
facilitate its entrance into the market. Rather, it is coordinating everyday
commuters who may be willing to transport another rider headed in the same
direction. For now, the Ridewith app is only available in Israel, but if
Google finds success, it is likely to expand. This continues the friendly
competition that has developed between Uber and Google in the last several
months, with Uber hiring self-driving car researchers to compete with
Google's experiments, and also acquiring mapping technology in hopes of
weaning itself off its reliance on Google Maps.
Meanwhile, three apps are creating taxi alternatives for minors
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__touch.latimes.com_-23se
ction_-2D1_article_p2p-2D83847262_&d=BQMFaQ&c=cBOA5YEoZuz9KdLvh38YxdrPtfJt83
ckXekfBgq5xB0&r=CK8oOj7-JYZnTDmB5orNTVZXar6NrsnGtGHfQ5m79Do&m=_swJnSO9ht1210
XDbVoD3IlFwGGnKktFryOKwzXcG2M&s=3lB1QB9neiUP1NC6a6WLdDAKc5DOXF8aUPS2qQUU0o8&
e=> , filling in the void created by policies in place at Uber, Lyft and
Sidecar that prohibit their drivers from giving rides to minors who are not
accompanied by an adult. The apps, called Shuddle
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__shuddle.us_&d=BQMFaQ&c
=cBOA5YEoZuz9KdLvh38YxdrPtfJt83ckXekfBgq5xB0&r=CK8oOj7-JYZnTDmB5orNTVZXar6Nr
snGtGHfQ5m79Do&m=_swJnSO9ht1210XDbVoD3IlFwGGnKktFryOKwzXcG2M&s=HIUwpUShcQUlS
e_vXXnKBaPHH4QjP98LHRZU3pBt6_U&e=> , HopSkipDrive
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.hopskipdrive.com_&d
=BQMFaQ&c=cBOA5YEoZuz9KdLvh38YxdrPtfJt83ckXekfBgq5xB0&r=CK8oOj7-JYZnTDmB5orN
TVZXar6NrsnGtGHfQ5m79Do&m=_swJnSO9ht1210XDbVoD3IlFwGGnKktFryOKwzXcG2M&s=1H1L
sYbTvsUlEA4VfVHJExfTSUb4WZou-4Y5LlsXctA&e=> and Boost
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__boostbybenz.com_&d=BQM
FaQ&c=cBOA5YEoZuz9KdLvh38YxdrPtfJt83ckXekfBgq5xB0&r=CK8oOj7-JYZnTDmB5orNTVZX
ar6NrsnGtGHfQ5m79Do&m=_swJnSO9ht1210XDbVoD3IlFwGGnKktFryOKwzXcG2M&s=oycIMnVe
kszRytGWs_uQTKCOiZYV6nhuYLkX_B5jn84&e=> , all focus on providing rides to 8-
to 16-year-old kids who need to get to school or other events but cannot
find a ride. HopSkipDrive and Boost both require rides to be booked at least
a day in advance, but Shuddle recently added ShuddleMe, an app that lets the
kids themselves book a ride within an hour (all of the apps still have
parental approval in place before a car will pick up any children). Shuddle
also charges a monthly membership fee and prices that are roughly 15 percent
higher than Uber, surcharges it says allow it to conduct more in-depth
background checks and face-to-face interviews with prospective drivers, all
of whom must either be parents or have previous experience working with
kids.
These apps are further indications that ridesharing is not going away
anytime soon, and that the market for these services is not completely
satisfied by the current offerings. While Uber still dominates the industry,
innovators like Shuddle, HopSkipDrive and Boost are evidence that this area
is still growing and developing, with new potential services, and new
potential challenges, just around the bend.
<http://mandrillapp.com/track/open.php?u=30489975&id=81e6a2788c534168a2559df
3b2dc5fb4>
