With Uber Out There, Why Ever Rent A Car Again?
These days, even your car insurance company is likely to give you money for Uber (if you ask), instead of a rental car, while they're repairing your wheels. Maybe $30 a day in Uber money.
A rental car comes with all this responsibility, and if you're at a hotel, you probably have to pay to park it.
Maybe if you need to drive around to a bunch of locations with a trunk full of stuff -- or if you just prefer to drive -- renting a car still makes sense.
And if you aren't in an area with a good supply of Ubers, renting a car is maybe the best idea.
But with Uber, assuming some city government isn't stopping Uber from going to and from the airport, there's none of that rushing to get gas and return a rental car before you get on a plane.
And it could end up being cheaper daily or weekly -- and maybe by far.
Seems other people are thinking this way. At BizJournals.com, Annie Gaus writes:
Uber eclipsed car rentals as percentage of total rides for the first time in the fourth quarter, the report notes. Uber accounted for 41 percent of total ground transport on the platform, as opposed to rental cars' 39 percent."The overarching piece is that when a business traveler has the freedom to select, they're doing so," says Neveu.
via @Mark_J_Perry
And on a related note:
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/uber-agrees-cap-surge-pricing-nyc-snowstorm-article-1.2506684
Uber in New York has agreed to cap surge pricing during the snow emergency in New York.
It would be interesting to see what this does to the availability of Uber cars during the snow storm and afterwards.
It is the weekend, so many folks might not need to get anywhere; but, some will still need to get someplace such as hospitals, etc. to visit ill family members.
charles at January 23, 2016 4:44 AM
It would be interesting to see what this does to the availability of Uber cars during the snow storm and afterwards.
If it was me, it would motivate me to not worry about buying fancy studded snow tires and making out like a bandit, but rather to stay home and make snowmen.
kenmce at January 23, 2016 5:59 AM
I just saw an article about a lady, 73 or 74, who drives for Uber -- but only in nice weather. When you're out in the snow, you risk damage to your car, very slow traffic, etc. Why leave the house for that if it doesn't pay you much more? There needs to be a point at which the costs are met with benefits -- in dollars -- for it to be worth the risk.
Amy Alkon at January 23, 2016 6:02 AM
I hate renting a car. I hate taxis.
Taxis at O'Hare are so fucking rude. Taxi drivers are such a luck of the draw. God forbid you politely interrupt their break while they're parked in front of the airport.
Ppen at January 23, 2016 6:42 AM
For articles Google: uber surge pricing
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/04/17/how-uber-surge-pricing-really-works/
This article is critical of surge pricing. The author Nicholas Diakopoulos concludes that surge pricing does not increase the supply of Uber drivers, but only redistributes drivers to neighborhoods with higher demand. The implication is that this market doesn't really work, but it does deliver more money to the entrepreneurs. This is the typical criticism of price gouging, those higer prices during emergencies.
The story above about the age 73 Uber driver contradicts this. She happily increases supply (her services) when conditions are mild. Others will happily work in bad conditions if the price is right.
Diakopoulos then opposes his own view with the complaint that these prices are unreliable, changing in 5 minutes. Rapidly changing prices are a sign of high response to demand.
The problem seems to be, the price is related to pickup in 5 minutes or less. If that price is say $500, the wise customer should wait 5 - 60 minutes and try again. A typical cab company keeps the price constant and presents a waiting time. Uber keeps the wait constant and presents a price. The Uber customer needs to wait offline if he sees the price is too high for him.
Uber's operation is better than the cab company. The customer can get relatively rapid services if he really needs them, or wait if he values the money more. In either case, he gets transportation rapidly rather than wonder if he has been forgotten by the cab company.
The same is true about price gouging. A customer can buy emergency water at $10/bottle, or wait for the price to drop. In either case, the available supply is rationed to those who really need it, rather than have all supplies disappear at $1/bottle and leave no choice but to wait.
Andrew_M_Garland at January 23, 2016 10:43 AM
The viability and desirability of using Uber is a function of the density of the area you are visiting - in my experience.
For example I often find myself in LA, the Bay Area, and Boston suburbs for business. While all of these areas have plenty of Uber drivers, they're so spread out that it often takes a while for one to reach you, and then you're stranded again where ever they drop you off. Renting a car is just much more convenient, even if it's more expensive.
If I'm closer to the urban centers of these regions, then Uber can be a more attractive option.
And I agree about cabs - in larger cities especially - it's like they emptied out all of the prisons in the middle east and northern africa and made the inmates cabbies. A
Norm at January 23, 2016 1:05 PM
I think Norm has it right. I have a couple of examples from work.This is like fifth hand... we had some employees visit from another office. They took uber from the airport to our office and it "cost almost as much as a taxi" (the taxi is about $140) and then when they wanted to go to the hotel at the end of the work day there was no uber available and another co-worker dropped them off. In the morning the wait for uber was quite long I guess too.
OUr 2 up manager had a team mate compare costs on a resent visit (he rented a car but check prices for other services). The costs were about the same for everything but the taxi. Oh the cheapest was a traditional airport ridesharing company if you stayed at hotel that would shuttle you to work.
The Former Banker at January 23, 2016 9:55 PM
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