Monetization Playbook #58–Eating Customer Complexity–Transport

Eating Customer Transport Complexity–Uber Ramen

Trepidation and no small amount of frustration–went hand in hand with a trip to the West-End–a trendy part of London.

Drinking, dancing, and, well, more drinking acted as the precursor to the real fun–trying to get a cab home!

You may laugh, but this was no joke back in the early noughties.

While hackney carriages–aka–black cabs, mini cabs, and the obligatory tuk-tuk roamed the streets–securing one for transport home was a sport in itself.

Addressing black cabs first–a myriad of thinking raced through the mind.

Was I dressed smart enough?
Do I look too drunk?
Am I with one, two, or three friends?
Do I live on the cabby's way home?

So many variables–someone help me out with an algorithm!!

It was easy to forget – I'm the customer!!

If we rule out the use of a tuk-tuk for a five-mile ride home–we next focus on the minicab.

Oh, what fun we had with mini-cabs.

Incomprehensible local transport rules and souk-style haggling norms rendered sobriety a must before entering this world.

But, remember, the only reason to catch a cab was to get drunk in the first place!

Countless arguments ensued.
"You said by the clocktower!"
"No, I said just after the clocktower–the price should be the same!"

Friction, what friction?

Fortunately, a minimum viable ecosystem emerged.
GPS, mobile, embedded payments, arbitrage-able employment laws–a blue ocean of opportunity!

Uber saw it. Lyft saw it. We loved it. 

Tap, tap, and a cab arrived.
No haggling.
No dressing up.
No interviewing for a ride home.
No guessing of final costs.
We could even see when the driver got lost and had to double back—what a beauty.  

Love em or hate em, you have to admire the customer friction these companies have eaten.

On-demand, on point, on your mobile. Nuff said.

As the saying goes— to increase monetization, eat your customer's complexity.