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Uber Plans To Kill Surge Pricing With Machine Learning (npr.org)
An anonymous reader writes: Surge pricing is a familiar term for any regular Uber rider -- or driver. It's when you call an Uber, and the price of a ride is two, three, or four times more as a result of greater demand brought on by a sporting event or weather event nearby. For riders, it's an annoyance, but for drivers, it's a perk as it usually results in more pocket change. Inside Uber, surge pricing is considered a market failure, and a problem to be solved. "That's where machine learning comes in. That's where the next generation comes in," says Jeff Schneider, engineering lead at Uber Advanced Technologies Center. "Because now we can look at all this data, and we can start to make predictions." Everyone knows that when a Beyonce concert ends, for example, there's going to be a lot of demand for Uber drivers. Schneider explains, "[What's harder] is to find those Tuesday nights when it's not even raining and for some reason there's demand -- and to know that's coming. That's machine learning." With enough of the right data inputs, computer algorithms can do the research that Uber drivers already do -- only better, "so the surge pricing never even has to happen," Schneider says.
In the perfect market, the price is determined by supply and demand. If the demand raises and the supply stays the same, the price raises. So if you believe the price is too high, just raise the supply as well. Banning price surges just adds imperfections into the market.
when the whole point of Uber is to be flexible for drivers.
It's not. And no matter how flexible you might want to be for drivers, passengers are not out there at the convenience of the driver.
Honey... There's an Uber driver out here who says you're delivering a baby?
That can't be true, my water hasn't even broooooOMG!!!!
Schneider explains, "[What's harder] is to find those Tuesday nights when it's not even raining and for some reason there's demand -- and to know that's coming. That's machine learning
That's not how it works. That's not how any of that works!
Deus! Stop your bullshit marketing and get back into whatever festering hole you crawled out of you twit!
Also, surge pricing is a perk for the passenger, because it means a ride is actually available.
Surge pricing is just supply and demand. If you don't like it, you are free to go wait at the taxi stand for an hour in the rain.
Schneider: And so the idea is if you can predict that demand, you get that information out there – and you get that supply there ready for the demand so the surge pricing never even has to happen. And I think that's one of the really cool things that machine learning's doing for Uber right now.
Supposedly surge pricing is supposed to get more drivers go out on the road because they earn a premium.
Just predicting that you'll need more drivers doesn't actually put those drivers on the road, you'll still need some kind of extra incentive.
You might get away with a smaller surge, but predictions alone doesn't solve the problem that surge pricing was made to solve.
I stole this Sig
Thing is, here in San Francisco, Taxis are doing rather well, despite all the publicity to the contrary.
It's actually quite easy to catch cabs in many parts of the city now and they are often better, because cabs have gotten their act together and are now much more responsive to folks looking for them, and they accept cash. Also, many of the companies now have an app (Flywheel) that can be used just like Uber and Lyft's app. To be honest, I actually prefer Taxis.
Uber circumvents laws to protect passenger safety.
... that create artificial scarcity and barrier to entry to protect the industry owners. Does squat for safety.
They pay lousy wages while slacking on insurance.
Seems to work for drivers so far.
They don't do appropriate background checks as evidenced by the Kalamazoo shootings.
And regular taxi/car service drivers have never been involved in shootings? At least with Uber the ride is tracked. If a flagged down taxi driver wants to do me in, no one will ever know.
Why should Uber exist at all? They have no interest in protecting either consumers or employees.
Same reason why all for-profit businesses exist: for profit. They have no other interest.
Can anyone justify Uber's existence? I expect the answer is no.
Their customers, drivers and employess depend on Uber's existence, and that is a lot of people.
Can anyone justify Uber's existence?
Can you justify your own existence? What I find remarkable about babble like yours is how little understanding there is of consequences. No one has the understanding of society or reality to decide who "should" exist. It'll just create destruction obstructions to human progress by people too stupid and short sighted to create the sort of things, like Uber, which they are judging.
My view is that Uber's existence is sufficient justification for their existence.
it looks like the yellow cab bankruptcy may have been triggered by an $8m compensation claim.
They're still trading - just using bankruptcy to restructure (abandon?) their debts.
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