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Uber's Accidental Argument Against Itself
The ride-sharing company produces a terrific illustration of how bad Bangkok traffic can be, but not how Uber would help.
Uber's new Bangkok ad makes a great point, writes Angie Schmitt, but not in favor of Uber:
"By stripping away the gloss, anonymity, and cultural connotations of car exteriors and leaving only their bulk, the ad brilliantly highlights why moving around in single-occupancy vehicles is so absurd in an urban context."
The argument the ad fails to make is how the same people taking the same trips in someone else's car would have any impact on the number of cars on the road; and in fact, there is evidence that ride-sharing apps may do just the opposite.
There’s certainly a place for these services in the transportation ecosystem, Schmitt writes, but "no app, no matter how user-friendly, can turn cars into a congestion fix."
Published on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 in
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