RIDEGURU
Chris Hawes (chawes)
Ride Guru from Boston, MA
CTO of RideGuru, tech expert & enthusiast
756 Rider GuruChris has been involved with the Taxi industry since co-founding TaxiFareFinder.com in 2007, and has been an avid follower of the rideshare industry since its inception. An expert in full-stack web design and development, Chris oversees all the technical aspects of Unleashed's innovative products.
Activity
Posts by chawes
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How to keep your car safe during COVID
Check it out, some smart people figured out how to make airflow in your car safest for avoiding getting germs … -
Due To New California Law, Uber Allows Some Drivers To Set Their Own Rates
Whoahttps://www.npr.org/2020/01/28/800437791/due-to-new-california-law-uber-allows-some-drivers-to-set-their-own-rates?utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR25AV1xVIyT5ykvB3lF6EcC8thYJ4pf4BX2pBKCOZmGCZV8isrR5a_-KOU -
Uber: The ride-hailing app that says it has ‘zero’ drivers
Reality distortion field...Uber contract drivers helped bring in more than three-quarters of the company’s revenue in this year’s first … -
Bird raises new funding at a $2.5 billion valuation, thanks to longer-lasting scooters
Lot of cash for a company that can't turn a profit......That may have something to do with grim reports … -
Inside the new Uber: Weak coffee, vanishing perks and fast-deflating morale [Washington Post]
It's official. Uber has gone from hip startup to boring big company.https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/30/inside-new-uber-weak-coffee-vanishing-perks-fast-deflating-morale/Sounds like morale is pretty low among … -
Inside Uber’s plan to take over city life with CEO Dara Khosrowshahi
https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/26/20885185/uber-ceo-dara-khosrowshahi-interview-exclusiveIt’s an ambitious play to become the de facto transportation and delivery service in every major city. But the … -
New York City’s first self-driving shuttle service is now open for business
https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/6/20755163/new-york-city-self-driving-shuttle-serviceMuch like other autonomous vehicle (AV) shuttle services that have cropped up in recent years across the country, it … -
Woman gives birth in back of taxi. Driver is cool.
Warning: graphic. Can anyone top this??? -
The Uber for helicopters is now Uber
This pricing doesn't seem that bad. Getting from Manhattan to JFK can be a nightmare. Helicopter in 8 minutes? Where … -
As was predicted, Uber’s IPO means you’ll be paying higher fares for your rides
This article nicely sums up what I think a lot of us were already thinking.As we’ve reported before, Uber's … -
The future of the gig economy...
Is this it? LOL -
Uber rang in its IPO with champagne and mimosas. Then the hangover began.
You just can't teach an old dog new tricks, can you.SAN FRANCISCO — Uber shut down a party at … -
Beijing Taxi Trajectories
Check out this cool visualization of a day of taxi trips in Beijing. Talk about busy huh! Click on the … -
Four reasons Uber’s IPO stalled on Friday
So the Uber IPO is a huge dud, surprising exactly no one (especially after Lyft's weak performance since it's IPO). … -
Uber and Lyft stop hiring new drivers in New York City
NYC's new regulation around rideshares is officially doing its job now, for better or for worse. Uber and Lyft have … -
Electric scooters may not be around for long [The Verge]
The article is light, but watch the video for more detail.The fundamental numbers don’t really add up because scooters … -
Lyft becomes the first ride-hail company to go public, beating Uber
Welp, here it is folks.https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/1/18246328/lyft-ipo-ride-share-bikes-scooters-uber-public-secI am surprised to see how much Lyft's market share has increased in the … -
Uber and Lyft reportedly giving some drivers cash bonuses to use towards buying IPO stock
So, would you buy the IPO, or just pocket the cash? I know what I'd do...The two programs are … -
Uber Exploring Autonomous Bikes and Scooters [TechCrunch]
Pretty wild. Scooters that can drive themselves to their charging stations, and redistribute themselves to wherever they are needed. So … -
Uber Is Headed for a Crash [nymag]
Interesting read. How long can Uber survive hemorrhaging money?Uber’s investors have been buying your satisfaction in the form of …
Featured Answers by chawes
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Ok since a few people have wondered about this:
How much does it cost to charge a scooter? Less than you might think. Just to run some rough numbers:
The scooter batteries' capacities are reported to be about 8800mAh at 36V. We can convert this to watt hours: 8800 * 36 / 1000 = 316.8Wh
Electricity costs on average of 12 cents per kilowatt hour (ie. 1000 watt hours) in the US. So, the cost of charging one of these scooters from empty is going to be something like:
(316.8 / 1000) * 12 = 4 cents
It's probably a bit more than that since chargers are not 100% efficient. And, the cost of electricity varies between different locations, so take this with a grain of salt. But it's safe to say the electricity cost of charging these things is not something to worry much about.
I can't believe he didn't pay you! He could have at least thrown you a 20. Still, awesome story.
Insane. Wow.
Huh, I always wondered how they charged them all up again. Now I know.
Wow. You have some serious talent... Do you sell these works?
Uber's gotta be running scared now. The writing is on the wall. Didi and Ola will be in the US before long and they are gonna crush it.
Whoa, like the precise address? I thought they were supposed to hide that...
You can't. Notice that it only works with the wheel upside down.
Story of my life.
You might try the Lyft app instead of Uber. Lyft claims to support Bear Creek, NC.
https://www.lyft.com/rider/cities/salisbury-nc
I would recommend taking the phone number for a local taxi company with you as a last resort, though.
What I would recommend is that you install the Uber app on your phone now, and set up an account with them. Then you are all ready to go.
When you need your ride in August, you can simply open the app, type in the address where you want to go, and tap the "Confirm" button. You do not need to book your ride ahead, you can do this just when you need it.
Hi Elyra, do you have a smartphone?
Uber's API Terms of Service specifically disallows price comparisons with other rideshare companies. Sites like RideGuru either must compute fare estimates on their own, or skirt the TOS until Uber figures it out and shuts them down (as it has for a number of sites).
Wait, are they buying out medallions? For real? I haven't heard this. Does anyone have more information?
His claim that they are "using suicides" to buy them is a bit ridiculous in any case.
This is a cool idea. They could show a list of drivers that you've used (and rated highly) in the past that are nearby and available. You could just choose whichever one you want. Maybe you could mark favorites too.
Look at this overhead shot of where it happened. Is it weird that there are pedestrian walkways in the median, but no crosswalks? What is going on there?
Here in Boston there is a proposal by a bunch of developers to build a gondola system from downtown to the seaport district, where there has been a ton of development lately. Probably will never happen but it's a cool idea. Subways are way more efficient at moving people around but are very complicated to build, obviously.
The whole idea of grocery deliveries is nothing new, but it's never really taken off for some reason. I used to get Stop and Shop Peapod deliveries years ago when I lived with a bunch of guys. I can't say we loved it but it was better than going grocery shopping at the time.
But at least with Peapod you had a dedicated refridgerated truck doing the deliveries. Having Uber and Lyft drivers do it just seems really weird.
I was in Thailand about ten years ago, and we were able to easily hire a tuk-tuk driver to drive us around all day to different places in Bangkok. It was cheap, too. I don't think you'd have much trouble trying to hire someone for six days. I'm not sure how you'd do it in advance though. If it were me I would probably ask the taxi driver from the airport if he knows anyone who can do it for you, and hope for the best. Rideshare company is probably not the way to go, but will work as a backup if you get stranded. Uber and Grab are available
I wish we had the data on the ride start/endpoints. I would love to see how they correlate to public transit locations.
I want to know how this compares to tech as a whole. This article doesn't say anything about that. For all we know they're doing better than the rest of the industry.