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Suburban Ride-Sharing Is Mathematically Impossible

posted by n1 on Wednesday November 18 2015, @05:49AM   Printer-friendly
from the on-your-bike dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Given the proliferation of microtransit services trying to match drivers and passengers, you might think they had ride-sharing and carpooling all figured out. But the recent demise of Leap Transit in San Francisco—to say nothing of the other transportation start-ups that have failed without a media whimper—reminds us that even in a big city it’s not easy to fill empty vehicle seats. And in the suburbs, it’s downright mathematically impossible.

Or just about, anyway, according to a provocative new thought-experiment by Steve Raney, principal at a smart mobility consultancy called Cities21. In a working paper, the former Silicon Valley tech product manager crunched the numbers on ride-sharing in the Palo Alto area and found the odds of matching drivers with passengers long, to say the least. Raney calls it the “Suburban Ridematch Needle in the Haystack Problem.”

“I wanted to gently inject some reality into this,” he tells CityLab.

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  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday November 18 2015, @03:07PM

    by FatPhil (863) <{pc-soylent} {at} {asdf.fi}> on Wednesday November 18 2015, @03:07PM (#264875) Homepage
    Ah, I never knew about th origins of reality tv (citations appreciated), but that kinda confirms why I've been refusing to call it reality tv, and instead call it "tv without professional actors" (OK, I call it "reality tv" for short, but have never considered there to be any reality behind the scripted scenarios that are played out. And OK, I haven't seen much, I haven't had a telly since the 90s.)

    But you're right, the "call a tail a leg" of Uber is just complete bullshit to get around paying tax (the top 1% do it, why shouldn't people elsewhere in the pyramid too?). As someone who pays lots and lots of tax, this pisses me off.
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  • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Wednesday November 18 2015, @07:07PM

    by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Wednesday November 18 2015, @07:07PM (#265010)

    h, I never knew about th origins of reality tv (citations appreciated), but that kinda confirms why I've been refusing to call it reality tv, and instead call it "tv without professional actors" (OK, I call it "reality tv" for short, but have never considered there to be any reality behind the scripted scenarios that are played out. And OK, I haven't seen much, I haven't had a telly since the 90s.)

    It's easier to just call it crap.

    • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday November 18 2015, @08:30PM

      by FatPhil (863) <{pc-soylent} {at} {asdf.fi}> on Wednesday November 18 2015, @08:30PM (#265059) Homepage
      Easier, more precise, and more accurate. Good call.
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      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves