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Comment by guelo | Hacker News Reader

Sounds like Uber was up to shenanigans when they whipped up the internet rage machine. There was some conversation going on between Uber and Cheh, I don't think we're getting the full story here.

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Both Uber and Cheh say that there was some conversation. Cheh claims that Uber endorsed the $15 minimum, Uber says they never endorsed any sort of price-fixing.

Given that this amendment would have severely hurt Uber, I'm definitely inclined to believe them over Cheh on this.

It sounds from the article like Uber had a $15 minimum already. Now they're dropping it to $12, in "apparent defiance".

Looks like 'earned media' to me, free mentions in the press for throwing a fit.

The thing is that the $15 minimum would have applied to all of the services that Uber offers, not just their town cars. This would have an impact on the rollout of UberX to the area, which has a minimum fare of $10.

http://blog.uber.com/2012/07/03/sf-vehicle-choice/

Exactly. This was an attack on the new "Uber X" service which will more directly compete with regular cabs. (Frankly the only reason I even take cabs anymore is the cost of the regular Uber service.)

Uber currently has a $15 minimum total fee in DC. They charge a $7 fare (the "flag drop" rate) and then $3.25 a mile after that. The proposed amendment, if I've read these articles correctly, would have raised the "flag drop" rate to $15 and then any mileage charges would have been on top of that. For comparison, the flag drop rate for taxis is currently (and would have remained) $3.

Ah. Thanks, that makes more sense.

There was definitely some "controlling of the message" going on- every headline said "Force Uber to charge 5x the price", when the actual amendment enforced a $15 minimum- probably less than 90% of Uber rides.

Not supporting the amendment, of course- just saying.

I think the core issue was that Uber was planning to introduce a cheaper service than they have currently and the amendment would have effectively prevented it from working.

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