31–40 of 107 posts
So what's the model? Put the taxis out of business and then jack up the fares to what the taxis were? Who's winning, then, exactly? Not the consumer...
Wait, so Uber spent $900 million dollars? I thought that considering they offload so much of the costs of running of the business( EDIT: through having drivers buy the cars, for example), they wouldn't have such high operating costs. Though according to this[1] article, Uber's at 3000 employees worldwide. What are those employees doing? EDIT: For reference, Greyhound's 2014 operating costs were 600 million pounds (50…
Despite popular belief, apps and communities don't run themselves. Uber is scaling at an ungodly speed, and they're hiring a ton of people to do so. Seriously, look at how many jobs they're hiring for right now: https://www.uber.com/jobs/list (then realize they're doing this in hundreds of cities simultaneously, in addition to the hundreds they're already in). I'm actually blown away that they're losing so little , g…
I dont think Uber is going anywhere soon. It has such a strong brand. Everyone I know trusts uber a lot more than there local cab companies.
The competition would likely be smaller competitors chipping away at juicy chunks, like Wingz focusing exclusively on airport rides (and competing with UberX on price) and Blacklane promising higher level of service at cheaper rate than Uber Black.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do wonder what will happen once Uber starts charging market rates. Right now, your ride is subsidized by Uber. Once it comes time to turn on the profits, you'll have to pay more - substantially more in some markets. Will you still use Uber? Probably. But many who started using Uber instead of, say, taking their own car or using public transport, just might go back.
> I do wonder what will happen once Uber starts charging market rates. That's an excellent question and the answer is it wont be cheap. That's why, in countries where Uber operates, a clear legal framework is needed so that Uber doesn't end up with a monopoly. If Uber is allowed to operate somewhere then anybody should be able to do that without the need for an army of lawyers and lobbyists or it's just replacing the…
I dont think Uber is going anywhere soon. It has such a strong brand. Everyone I know trusts uber a lot more than there local cab companies.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do wonder what will happen once Uber starts charging market rates. Right now, your ride is subsidized by Uber. Once it comes time to turn on the profits, you'll have to pay more - substantially more in some markets. Will you still use Uber? Probably. But many who started using Uber instead of, say, taking their own car or using public transport, just might go back.
> I do wonder what will happen once Uber starts charging market rates. Right now, your ride is subsidized by Uber. Do you have any evidence of that? I'm 99% sure Uber is profitable on a unit and customer basis.
I'm sure they are making money in markets where the existing taxi service was truly dreadful and where they don't have to compete on price and have been able to raise their rates to on par or higher than taxi rates, but they are definitely paying a price for expansion.
Wait, so Uber spent $900 million dollars? I thought that considering they offload so much of the costs of running of the business( EDIT: through having drivers buy the cars, for example), they wouldn't have such high operating costs. Though according to this[1] article, Uber's at 3000 employees worldwide. What are those employees doing? EDIT: For reference, Greyhound's 2014 operating costs were 600 million pounds (50…
When the dust is settled, you're going to get a company that controls the private transport industry in an area that stretches from San Francisco to Kolkata
For an industry that was once dominated by small local players, this is truly mind blowing.
I don't think there is a single startup that is as obsessed with aggressive growth as Uber
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In theory if they can lower the costs substantially through innovation over the current taxi model they can grow the market out of private car usage. This would mean all parties (except car manufacturers) will benefit.
In transportation business major costs are vehicle depreciation/maintenance/consumables (fuel, insurance, tires, etc), wages and you can include domain specific expenses (insurance, driver health chek-ups). * You can't reduce DS expenses. You can offload them to drivers, but that will still be reflected in prices * You can reduce wage cost by eliminating administrative load by having tools (apps, backends) do the job…
Wait, so Uber spent $900 million dollars? I thought that considering they offload so much of the costs of running of the business( EDIT: through having drivers buy the cars, for example), they wouldn't have such high operating costs. Though according to this[1] article, Uber's at 3000 employees worldwide. What are those employees doing? EDIT: For reference, Greyhound's 2014 operating costs were 600 million pounds (50…
I haven't seen the data, but I bet a huge percentage of it is subsidized rides. They essentially use free rides as a carrot for users to learn the value of Uber. The great part for Uber is that once they've trained their userbase, that cost largely disappears.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I do wonder what will happen once Uber starts charging market rates. That's an excellent question and the answer is it wont be cheap. That's why, in countries where Uber operates, a clear legal framework is needed so that Uber doesn't end up with a monopoly. If Uber is allowed to operate somewhere then anybody should be able to do that without the need for an army of lawyers and lobbyists or it's just replacing the…
Private monopolies are largely unproblematic as they will be destroyed by more effective competitors eventually. I'm way more afraid of government monopoly. Point in case: The protectionism and government interference that has kept the taxi business shitty for so long.