Uber Rush

http://blog.uber.com/RUSH

by nikunjk • 12 years ago

169 83 12 years ago

blog.uber.com

"Premium Rush" [1]?

I didn't knew bike couriers existed before I saw this movie on TV. Is this common in NY, or is Uber introducing the idea? Is it common elsewhere?

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn6ie1zCkZU

tokenadult• 12 years ago

I didn't knew bike couriers existed before I saw this movie on TV. Is this common in NY, or is Uber introducing the idea?

Bicycle couriers have been in New York City and other large cities in the United States (including mine, Minneapolis) for a long time. They are especially suited for traveling from one building in a dense "downtown" area to another.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_messenger

http://www.blazingsaddles.net/

aestra• 12 years ago

(In New York at least) they also deliver food.

overworkedasian• 12 years ago

oh yeah, bike courriers have been around in NYC for over a decade. Same goes for every major metropolis in the USA.

nicwolff• 12 years ago

"over a decade", heh - I was one 30 years ago.

rafeed• 12 years ago

Bike messenger services are commonplace in the NYC area. Uber is using their logistics prowess to make it more efficient and probably cheaper.

aaronbrethorst• 12 years ago

Bike couriers date back to the 1860s in general and New York in particular to at least the 1890s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_messenger#History

hadoukenio• 12 years ago

There is a big bike courier scene in Melbourne (Australia) with full hipster beards and fixies.

billzhuang• 12 years ago

when i saw this news, i also remember the same movie.

rhizome• 12 years ago

That movie's precursor:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091814/

arasmussen2• 12 years ago

Uber RUSH lets you deliver packages with a mobile app that's probably as convenient as their driver app.

Awesome expansion by Uber. I suppose the same drivers that drive people around will now be driving stuff around too? Probably doesn't even cost too much in terms of new infrastructure. I wonder where they'll go next.

Edit: They actually did mention that the messenger arrives via bike or foot, so they won't have the same drivers delivering packages.

tomphoolery• 12 years ago

Did they specifically mention that it was a car who would be moving the package around? Seems like bike couriers would be a way better option, at least for NYC...

arasmussen2• 12 years ago

Ah you're right. "Your messenger will be on bike or on foot, and will not be able to deliver some oversized items"

samirahmed• 12 years ago

i often get the feeling that uber is positioning itself to strike gold with business billing. uber should build a feature that enables companies by allowing employees to expense there uber rides and 'rush' deliveries.

There is alot of business in this space and they will get the app into high level employees phones

It would be the akin to a corporate 'amex' ... bill the company 'uber'

parm289• 12 years ago

I agree. It seems that Uber could be for transportation what Seamless is for food (at least in midtown Manhattan). Currently, banks etc. either hire company car services to take employees home late at night or reimburse late-night taxi expenses post-hoc. It would be great to simply charge these late-night rides to the company Uber just as we order dinner on the company Seamless.

jordanthoms• 12 years ago

Uber had 'Uber perks' - http://blog.uber.com/2013/02/07/introducing-uber-perks-our-c... - but the link in that seems to be broken now, not sure if it still exists.

bwilliams18• 12 years ago

I don't think they need to do that. The people who would do this expensing probably already have a company credit card plugged into uber, and an assistant to handling the actual expensing process from an emailed receipt.

rdl3• 12 years ago

Unclear if this is better used for transporting drugs, or transporting cats. Seems like it would work for either. I don't see any real terms of service limitations or KYC which would prevent it from being used as a "delivery service" for drugs.

Maxious• 12 years ago

The words "Maximum Capacity" at the bottom of the page expand when clicked to reveal "If your messenger refuses delivery due to size/value/fragility or possible illegality, a cancellation fee will apply"

rdl3• 12 years ago

You clearly wouldn't declare "cocaine, 1kg" on the package, so I don't think drugs would be easy to catch. (although I think end-user-retail p2p lockers would be much better for this than couriers).

With cats, I suppose couriers might refuse them -- walking down the street with a cat carrier would be kind of unpleasant, and it would be worse on a bike.

bertil3• 12 years ago

That made me wonder: why wouldn’t they suggest to use a Uber Car in case the object was large or fragile? Sounds like a perfect case of up-sell.

I can already imagine lawyers having a field-day on the words ‘possible illegality’.

samstave5• 12 years ago

In any metro area, there is already door-to-door delivery for any drugs you might want, likely cheaper than what Uber can afford anyway as delivery price is already baked into the price of the drugs.

This is just Kozmo.com 2.0

llamataboot• 12 years ago

In NYC and the Bay maybe. In most other metros?

brianbreslin• 12 years ago

did kozmo source the goods from convenience stores?

the_watcher6• 12 years ago

I'm assuming the same regulations and laws regarding what can be sent apply to Uber Rush as the couriers and messengers working outside of Uber. The same way the same driving laws (like speed limit, stop lights, etc.) apply to Uber drivers.

mason55• 12 years ago

As everyone predicted, Uber is branching out with their expertise on "delivering things on demand", whether it be cars, ice cream trucks, kittens, or now packages.

inthewoods• 12 years ago

I'm wondering how big this market is - when I was growing up in NYC bike messengers were everywhere. And if you were an architect (like my stepfather), then there was a constant need to ship around drawings et al. But the messenger business seems to have largely disappeared - still there, but much, much smaller than when my brother was on the bike. Hasn't the digital age really ended the need for a lot of this? I'm guessing that there is a market need here or else Uber wouldn't be pursuing - but I do have to wonder. I agree with others, though, that they should get their business billing situation settled.

pattisapu• 12 years ago

Lawyers have a huge and ongoing need for couriers who can hand-deliver original documents.

windsurfer• 12 years ago

They also have a huge need to have their courier requirements disrupted.

biftek2• 12 years ago

There is definitely still a market in NYC, but you're right it’s smaller. Architects, lawyers, the fashion industry, and photo/video studios were our major clientele when I was working a few years back.

Hominem• 12 years ago

Huge market. I worked in the traditional printing business and we sometimes had to use regular car services to messenger proofs. I wouldn't be surprised if people tried to use regular über cars in that way and they just decided to roll with it.

phreanix• 12 years ago

Lawyers, accountants, the biomedical industry, real estate, the potential for tapping those markets are there. I've interacted with a few, and from what I've seen, they're loathe to try anything new if what they have works. Uber will have some creative marketing to do to reach out to these potential customers.

vm• 12 years ago

I wish I was in NY just to play with the UX!

If I have a RUSH order in progress, can I still order a traditional Uber ride?

RUSH is a business use case, which makes me think they'll soon support multiple concurrent rides since that's also a common business use case. When I was a lowly analyst, I often had to coordinate multiple cars for large groups. Really common situation in the NY finance scene (thank god I haven't worked there in a long, long time...).

rosem3• 12 years ago

I'm only on board with this if they are covering the bikers that are going to end up in the hospital — otherwise it's on everyone else.

pdq• 12 years ago

    We’re proud to announce our partnership with the 
    Bike Messenger Emergency Fund (BMEF). The BMEF 
    is a non profit public charity organization that provides 
    emergency compensation to bicycle messengers who 
    are hurt on the job. With the launch of UberRUSH, we 
    will donate $1 from each delivery to the BMEF.

rosem3• 12 years ago

This is not insurance.

Houshalter2• 12 years ago

Why? Is biking particularly dangerous? Shouldn't the bikers themselves have insurance like drivers do?

unphasable2• 12 years ago

of course it is dangerous. but if you are employed by uber and get hurt "on the job" while carrying out their agenda, they should be responsible for your recovery.

allworknoplay• 12 years ago

Bike messengers are almost universally contractors (there are some wonderful companies who basically exist to treat their messengers well, but they're a small part of the market). That obviously means they don't provide insurance and don't have to carry workman's comp for those employees. Most messengers I know make dirt pay and could never afford insurance except through their spouses (or parents if they're young). They live and die on being careful and help from the community and the BMEF (which is an awesome organization), and they do it because they can barely imagine life off a bike even in the face of the risks. So Uber isn't unique in this sense at all. That said, they're obviously swinging to cut margins out of an industry that already can barely support its workers. I'm more curious about the rates they pay than anything -- I actually suspect few in the industry would object to outcompeting large dispatchers if they pass some of that on to messengers in the form of better/stable pay. But BMEF donations "with the launch" (they do not say long-term) are no substitute for responsible employment.

On the whole I'm a bit surprised -- the messenger industry has been shrinking a lot as people need fewer actual signatures on documents. I suspect they're doing it more to understand the delivery market and pilot a delivery service than for the traditional document carrying market.

nicolethenerd• 12 years ago

The zone pricing is a little strange to me. So it's cheaper to have something delivered the 50 blocks from 110th to 59th St than it would be to go say, a block or two from 35th to 33rd?

aylons• 12 years ago

Yes. You trade some unfairness in a handful of (literally) corner cases for a simpler hand-made tariff scheme that may take into account the subtleties of the trade while being still easy for the client to understand it.

korzun2• 12 years ago

Makes sense, traffic congestion varies.

waterlesscloud2• 12 years ago

Traffic has zero to do with this.

johnvschmitt3• 12 years ago

Mixed feelings on this. It tends to expand the recent meme of "Everyone's a contractor, nobody's an employee".

There's no minimum wage or other worker protections if you sign contracts for services.

The social contract is never signed, & it's getting abandoned more & more.

thethimble• 12 years ago

Isn't being an employee unnecessary bureaucracy for a messenger service? If anything, I think Uber is doing a great service here to all parties involved by connecting supply and demand in a low-friction way.

johnvschmitt3• 12 years ago

Yes, it's not new, & yes Uber is doing well in connecting supply & demand with a great UX.

For Uber to be worth its high hype & valuation, it's going to essentially expand these types non-employee situations. That's why I'm "mixed" feeling about this, as I like great UX, smooth marketplaces, & know many people who want part-time work, not full time.

But, I also know many folks who had "decent jobs" (nothing special, but they can raise a family) driving UPS trucks or other things like that.

emperorcezar• 12 years ago

My understanding is that this is how the bike messenger industry has been for a while?

bertil3• 12 years ago

One aspect that Uber seems to have over-looked is that bike messengers traditionally rely on a network of relations, and commitment to the job -- it’s not a very gratifying job, therefore very low chances of finding another employment, legal or not, are qualifications. This allows the dispatcher to hire anyone with a pulse and calves, but trust some more and have them handle the occasional key delivery.

An truly Uber-like equivalent for parcels might be problematic. Imagine a couple of company shills, posing as a putative messengers, near your competitors’ headquarters.

AJ01• 12 years ago

I am a big fan of challenger brands like uber, but this doesn't seem to be news.

Keep on challenging the old taxi industries around the world.

oleganza2• 12 years ago

The "social contract" is a religious non-proven abstraction. There was never any social contract anywhere. And even if there was, it does not bind you or me in any way. And even if it could, we could impose our own versions of a social contract on each other making it irrelevant.

The consensus on social norms is not a consensus if it's enforced by some group on another - that's just bullying, not agreement. If our ideas of how society should function differ, we can either reach some compromise to mutual satisfaction (==consensus) or start fighting and guy with 51% of power will win. But that wouldn't be a "contract", "consensus" or "morality" in it. It'll be just an outcome of a brutal conflict.

tsax2• 12 years ago

The most amusing part about the fictitious 'social' contract is that its proponents are loathe to respect ACTUALLY SIGNED contracts.

johnvschmitt3• 12 years ago

Yes, the "social contract" is a very vague term indeed, & has been applied in bad ways in the past.

Here, I'm applying that there is social give & take & expectations/norms throughout our society. Yes, any social norm/contract/expectation is, by definition, constraining/conservative & thus counter to any progress/disruption.

These are not absolutes, as any difficult moral argument is usually balancing competing, legitimate concerns.

We do have an American social "contract" that is eroding: Things like "If you're born poor, and good in school, study hard, work hard your whole life, stay clean, then you have a great chance of getting out of poverty".

netcan4• 12 years ago

I'm not sure that this is necessarily a terrible thing. In some cases, its just a way of avoiding employment laws. In others, it is a genuine fragmentation of a big business into many units. Independent contractors can benefit from this and the whole system can become more efficient.

If a new technology is involved, the latter is more likely. Technology can reduce transaction costs and replace firms with markets made up of smaller firms.

A really interesting and accessible (but usually misinterpreted via soundbite) famous work in economics is ' The Nature of the Firm' by Ronald Coase. I think this is the best framework for understanding the key dynamic here. Whether employees or independent "contractors" make economic sense is most influenced by transaction costs.

For example if the cost of hiring, negotiating and communicating with a graphic designer every time was low enough, there would be no reason for a company to hire a graphic designer. But realistically if you add up all the things an in house designer does (including making the decisions about what needs to be done) in a month and try to get those done by freelancers, I would estimate the cost at 3-4X higher. As things stand now, I think that a company contracting over 10-20 hrs per week of design work is probably better off with a full time employee. The main reason is transaction costs.

Technology can cause big changes in transaction costs. What was previously done by companies can be done by markets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nature_of_the_Firm

the_watcher6• 12 years ago

> try to get those done by freelancers, I would estimate the cost at 3-4X higher

A lot of times you can get things done with a freelancer for cheaper. The cost comes A) when you want to change things and have to start over, potentially with someone who has never worked on your project before and B) you don't have someone thinking about your project design/code/product full time, so you are unable to push improvements or respond to issues continuously.

To grow past a certain point, you need someone who has a financial incentive to put your project at the front of their mind - something employment is great at.

For the Uber v. employee model - employees would give Uber better control over supply, independent contractors get more control over when they can work (hence the number of people I know who drive Uber/Lyft/Sidecar a few weekends a month just to pay their SF parking costs).

the_watcher6• 12 years ago

There are numerous people and professions who intentionally remain independent contractors (my father is one), rather than becoming an at-will employee. Each party should have a choice: the worker about whether he joins a company as an employee (and gets the benefits and "security") or remain a contractor (and remove the cap on income and have more control over their work), and the company about whether they'd like to offer benefits and "security" as a method to attract the best talent, or if they'd like to operate with independent contractors (which generally will mean more work finding them, managing them, and maintaining quality).\

Really, it should basically be the choice between being a freelancer or an employee, and the choice between hiring an engineer/designer or just one off freelancers.

netcan4• 12 years ago

You are assuming that this is a situation where a contractor is very similar to an employee. These only really exist as employers try to avoid employment laws. This is an employee, not a firm in the context of that paper.

A "real" contractor negotiates rates regularly and with different pricing models, takes work from multiple contractors, pay for their own tools etc. In some cases you genuinely have a "firm" with one client but that's rare.

The question is are these uber contractors contractors in this sense? I think they are.

peatmoss• 12 years ago

I was kind of hoping this involved bringing Geddy Lee to my home.

Uber Rush

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