I don't see Uber as class- or luxury-related at all. They have all kinds of customers. Sure they have affluent customers but e.g. college students actively seek each other to split Uber fares too. Many people would prefer to drive instead of taking an Uber, but they do the latter because often there's something preventing them from so (like lack of parking space, or any car to begin with). Are cars luxury upper middle-class commodities now too?
And when utilization is high, ride-sharing is arguably more carbon-friendly too. The same affluent folks you're talking about could be driving a car instead of sharing rides with other people if they were left with that option. Even if you think ride-sharing is somehow a sign of affluence (which it very obviously isn't, if you've lived in other countries where entire cities function on hitching rides with strangers every day), you shouldn't want to discourage it and look on people using it with disdain.
"it's not a class related thing"
"Students will actively look to split the cost"
So, kind of like, a class thing then? Where the lower classes can't afford it on their own and need to pool their resources together.
"Ride sharing is more carbon friendly"
Public transit is carbon friendly. Ride sharing in the case of uber where you're usually alone in the car, and the driver spends his entire day driving is not carbon friendly. By having people that need to drive all day long, and by making it so that a car is always available instead of better alternatives, it's even a net negative.
"Entire cities function on hitching rides with strangers"
The only minor difference is, once again, the cost. Let's take the Philippines for example. Grab replaces Uber over there, but the prices are still prohibitive for anyone who's not middle class. Jeepneys are basically privatised public transit. Tricycles are only used for short trips and people hop between them. The average person doesn't take Ubers all day long.
Not sure why you're being downvoted. A lot of the Uber/Lyft users I know were (pre-Covid) Uber Pool/Lift Line users. Cramming into a car with strangers that takes 2-3 diversions on the way to your final destination isn't really luxury; it's a stop-gap for when the trip you're making is underserved by transit.
For my lifestyle, owning a car would be the "luxury", not ride sharing.
$2000 is a prohibitively expensive amount for a nontrivial number of people. Not to mention that doesn’t take into account price of gas, parking, maintenance (for which a $2000 car will most likely need more of than a brand new car), registration, insurance...
More than 10% of Americans live below the federal poverty line (individual income of <$12k, family of 4 income less than <$26k)
What exactly are you arguing against here? So a $2k car is not affordable by the 10% of the population below the federal poverty line... therefore it's an upper middle-class luxury?
You're arguing a car isn't a class line in the United States, and you've completely forgotten the ~8 of adult Americans who don't have a car at all for transportation.
> You're arguing a car isn't a class line in the United States, and you've completely forgotten the ~8 of adult Americans who don't have a car at all for transportation. Maybe it's a class thing.
Or maybe it isn't. No, I haven't "forgotten" them. When some 90% of American households have access to a car, that's a pretty darn clear signal cars aren't a class luxury. It just means those in the lowest economic classes can't afford them, just like they have trouble affording so many other things.
You do realize for comparison some 36 million people are on food stamps? Meaning they need assistance to even put food on the table? That doesn't make food a "class thing" in any meaningful way. And neither is a car. Especially not an "upper middle-class luxury".
That works great if you have solid mechanic skills and you get the type of car that can be easily worked on. Otherwise, it's kind of a sketchy dice-roll, which is why certified pre-owned cars are a thing.
The problem is often not the purchase price but the ongoing maintenance, insurance and parking fees. In a big city, the problem isn't to buy the car but to find a place for it; even if parking near your home is solved the car is still very much a burden when you go in the city centre as you now need to figure out where to park it.
Oh fun, my friend literally bought a $1500 car yesterday and it lasted 100 miles down the road before I had to rescue him. So I guess you're right, cars are cheap and I'm wrong.
And when utilization is high, ride-sharing is arguably more carbon-friendly too. The same affluent folks you're talking about could be driving a car instead of sharing rides with other people if they were left with that option. Even if you think ride-sharing is somehow a sign of affluence (which it very obviously isn't, if you've lived in other countries where entire cities function on hitching rides with strangers every day), you shouldn't want to discourage it and look on people using it with disdain.