How does this kind of thing leak? When the last company I was at sold, most of us weren't even told for fear our acquirer would get cold feet if the terms leaked.
That's assuming the bus would only be converting drivers and not other forms of commuters.
I have a fifteen minute walk to work. If there was a convenient bus that cut that in half, I would use it. I used to ride the subway to work. That took about 40 minutes. I would definitely consider using a bus instead if the circumstances were right.
> To me, Kickstarter backers aren’t just customers. They’re our friends. They are mavens. They represent our most passionate, most ardent and most enthusiastic customers.
> Yes, that’s it. I failed. We failed. It feels horrible, and it’s the end of Ada. But not the end of Triggertrap.
Uh... if I was your "friend" I would be livid that you weren't going bankrupt to sell off every asset you had to pay me back in full.
*Edit - My post was more about the use of the term friendship to absolve the author of guilt. Seems to have been effective This seems like shady business ethics to me.
Why? If I'm running late to an appointment I will be willing to pay more than someone who is heading home from work to unwind and is in no particular hurry.
I love the concept that my fate is in my hands. It's not a matter of skill or chance in hailing a cab. I'm given all the information I need to make an adult decision and get to choose if it is worth it or not.
Sorry, rereading that some of the language gives a condescending tone which is very much not my intent.
Except the largest barrier to entry in the cab market is politics protecting the status quo in the regulated cab business. By tearing this down, Uber is effectively paving the way for competitors such as Sidecar and Lyft to disrupt them.
Also, I personally am sick of people complaining about Surge pricing. It's supply and demand. The tradeoff is ability to get a ride. When it rains, the supply of cabs stays the same but demand sky rockets. This surplus is passed to the consumers who are lucky enough to get a cab but many are literally caught in the rain. Uber raising the price is simply allowing the person who wants the ride the most to benefit from it.
I'm pretty sure loyalty programs are good for the smart consumer. I would speculate credit cards were all competing with one another while charging a 2% fee. They all wanted to go lower but couldn't and needed something to compete. Enter loyalty programs, designed to attract your attention but be too confusing to actually use.
TL,DR - I would guess cutting loyalty programs wouldn't lower credit card fees.