I can see it now: Londoners huddled outside of the barred-up tube entrances in the rain, moaning privately to themselves about the lack of transportation, until one clever sod whips out his smartphone and announces, "Uber will give us 50% off if we split!"<p>Dozens of commuters will scramble to share a cab with him as they excitedly scroll through the options for different drivers. "This one's only got four stars!" says one Uber virgin, shocked that anybody would consider less than five.<p>"Don't worry," says one of our Uber-savvy commuters, "they regularly prune the list of people who're getting poor reviews. I read it in an article on Hacker News."<p>"You read it on <i>what</i> news?" says another.<p>As the commuters split evenly into fairly sensible groups based on their desired destinations, the cars begin to arrive and they all pile in, leaving the pavement empty but for a busker and a Big Issue salesman.<p>As the final satisfying slam of an UberX car vibrates throughout the street, our new, friendly passengers get to know each other.<p>"This is rather nice, isn't it?"<p>"Pfft, who needs the underground?" says one, as they sit in gridlocked traffic on City Road, merely two hours from their destination, one-and-a-half miles away.
I don't really understand why people would use Uber in London when services like Hailo exist. A black cab is going to get you around London much faster than a car that can't use bus lanes, there are many more cabs available than Uber cars, and I would guess (without knowing) that a cab is going to be cheaper.<p>So, apart from Uber maybe having some nicer cars available, what's the deal?
This does not seem like a well-planned marketing campaign. Uber and its competitors would've done well enough on pure demand alone without having to say anything. But now they've decided to (inadvertently or not) jump into labor politics, which will almost certainly be interpreted as an effort to sap the strike of its power...and this effort will be associated particularly with the affluent who are wealthy enough to use Uber. I'm not saying the labor strike is right or wrong, I'm just saying that there is no way to stay out of the politics with this kind of marketing campaign, no matter its actual intentions. So I hope the contingency for blowback was planned out, and that this was not just the marketing department's way of riffing off of current events.
Erm.... keep London moving by putting even more cars on the road?<p>Because that's the problem, not enough affordable cars. That'll definitely work.
TfL has indicated that due to additional traffic, car journeys may take twice as long as usual (which is long enough) during the strike. I hope you like the people you're sharing with because if you do this during rush hour you will be spending a lot of time sitting next to them.
"We’re all in this together, so grab a friend and SPLIT!" Unless you're striking. In that case, Uber will not be with you. Uber will in fact be against you. What about when the strike is over. Well, Uber isn't really with you then either. Please see terms and conditions. We're all in this together "throughout the entire 48-hour strike until 6am on Thursday morning". Then, when unions have been busted and public infrastructure de-funded, you're on your own again.
The title needs fixed - it should be "#KEEPLONDONMOVING! 50% OFF ALL RIDES DURING THE TUBE STRIKE WHEN YOU FARE SPLIT"<p>(unless of course we are now allowing editorialising in HN post titles)
But... Uber insists that it needs surge pricing, otherwise drivers won't bother to give lifts. So a 50% off promotion must mean there won't be any drivers turning up to work, right?
Whenever I was stuck due to a tube strike there was nothing the bus or Addison Lee couldn't solve. I struggle to see Uber's "disruptive technology" work in London.
If you haven't heard yet, Uber has recently raised it's fees on UberX drivers from 5% to 15%. At first, I was completely behind them, but they're turning into a pretty cut throat company.