To be fair, Trainline started up years ago as a middle man that charge the same for tickets as train operators do (the price is regulated by National Rail) but with a surplus for a service that doesn't convey any extra value, and they're still quite popular.
If this meant that Uber was actually investing in the U.S. passenger rail system, then I’d cheer them on. It doesn’t, though, so Uber can continue to suck my ass.
Uber is an awful company, but rideshare as a whole is beneficial in the terms of getting less cars sold and used.
There is some attempt somewhere in the US to do a coop out of Uber, where there is no middleman public company and drivers get all the fares. I hope that works out.
As a general concept, I don’t think you’re wrong. However, Uber in particular is problematic. They’re greedy, exploit their workers, and threaten municipalities that try to regulate them.
I can't help but imagine actually using Uber to call for a train and when it arrives, it's just some old-timey blind guy on one of those old-timey hand-carts singing prophetic songs about what your day is gonna be like.
Fuck gig economy reform, intimidate your way to disability justice in the workplace via ominous clairvoyance and getting absolutely fucking yoked enough to suplex a train like it’s Final Fantasy VI
I'm not particularly fond of Uber's bussiness practices but if it is well integrated then it might encourage people who use Uber anyway to take a train instead of a car
It's not going to be well integrated. They will provide services only on profitable routes. All companies providing services on not profitable connections will lose out until the whole system is worse than before uber joined
That's relatively standard for start-ups and not awful on its face.
But its not clear from the ad copy whether they're actually offering any kind of independent service, or whether they're just doing the middleman bullshit, where they charge you a convenience fee to buy a ticket you could have just as easily obtained directly from Amtrak.
If this is just Ticketmaster For Trains, then its arguably even worse. The last thing we need is more privatized transaction clearing services.
Or we could just ignore the corrupt alliance of industry colluding to eliminate other transportation options and wax poetic about the Free Market and Rugged Individualism, right?
Yeah, seems like having the option to go for ebikes, trains and other stuff than cars in the same app would be a good thing. Someone might go for those options since they're right there.
Best I can figure is the train companies are using Uber as a system to sell tickets, instead of or in addition to their own system. Can anyone comment?