Hailo YouTube Ad Points Out Uber's High Rates

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And today's last word in Business is this ride costs too much.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Or put it this way...

(SOUNDBITE OF YOUTUBE VIDEO)

JIMMY MCMILLAN: Uber's rates? It's too damn high.

INSKEEP: Uber's rates, he says. That's from a new ad posted on YouTube taking on Uber.

GREENE: Uber has become familiar in many cities where people take taxi rides - instead of hailing a cab you summon one through your smartphone.

INSKEEP: And you tend to pay more than if you hailed a cab, sometimes a lot more. Prices escalate on a moment's notice when demand is high.

GREENE: Enter Jimmy McMillan, the man whose voice we hear in the ad.

(SOUNDBITE OF YOUTUBE VIDEO)

MCMILLAN: You might know me from the political party I started - The Rent Is Too Damn High Party, or maybe we went to middle school together. I don't know how you know me. I can't see you. That's not how YouTube works.

INSKEEP: Anyway, Mr. McMillan became famous in 2010 when he ran for governor of New York. Now his message is that Uber charges too much.

GREENE: The ad is a pitch for Hailo which is a competing service. And that is the Business News on MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm David Greene.

INSKEEP: And I'm Steve Inskeep. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.