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Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

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Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#11

Uber is making the rest of us in SV look terrible. 1. Collect a huge pile of money at sky-high valuations from those who really should know better. 2. Ignore any sensible unit economics and undercut local taxi/transport services until those small businesses go bankrupt since they don't have Uber's money pile. 3. Evade local regulations that everyone else follows in the name of 'innovation' even though the reality is…

AFAIK, this is called "Dumping the market". And it should not be legal...

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#12
post #7
post #4

Presumably this is intentional -- Uber could raise prices and make more money, but right now they're choosing to keep prices very low in order to undercut Lyft and the cab companies with the assumption that having a monopoly will return more profits in the future. At least anecdotally, here in SF Lyft is almost always more expensive than Uber.

I tried Lyft the other day, but after they charged me $25 as an "authorization hold" without notification, I cancelled my ride and decided to stick with Uber. Note that Uber's auth charge is usually around $1. $25 may not be a significant amount for some, but it's non-trivial for a college student like myself. I would have been happy had they just notified me first instead of my bank. Terrible UX to be frank. I actua…

There must be something else going on, because the authorization hold has been $1.25 for Lyft for as far as I've been using it.

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#13

Uber is making the rest of us in SV look terrible. 1. Collect a huge pile of money at sky-high valuations from those who really should know better. 2. Ignore any sensible unit economics and undercut local taxi/transport services until those small businesses go bankrupt since they don't have Uber's money pile. 3. Evade local regulations that everyone else follows in the name of 'innovation' even though the reality is…

Well, about (2). Taxi got a bit cheaper. Also for peak times people use them to dodge surge pricing. It's equalizing.

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#14
post #4

Presumably this is intentional -- Uber could raise prices and make more money, but right now they're choosing to keep prices very low in order to undercut Lyft and the cab companies with the assumption that having a monopoly will return more profits in the future. At least anecdotally, here in SF Lyft is almost always more expensive than Uber.

Lyft may be more expensive on paper but I always use it instead of Uber where it is available and they send me so many discounts and coupons that I almost never pay the full price.

> I almost never pay the full price.

In the world of venture-capital subsidized transportation, no one ever pays full price [1].

[1] Can Uber Ever Deliver? Part Two: Understanding Uber’s Uncompetitive Costs - http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/12/can-uber-ever-deliver...

Also see Part 1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13079023 / http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/11/can-uber-ever-deliver...

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#15
post #7
post #4

Presumably this is intentional -- Uber could raise prices and make more money, but right now they're choosing to keep prices very low in order to undercut Lyft and the cab companies with the assumption that having a monopoly will return more profits in the future. At least anecdotally, here in SF Lyft is almost always more expensive than Uber.

I tried Lyft the other day, but after they charged me $25 as an "authorization hold" without notification, I cancelled my ride and decided to stick with Uber. Note that Uber's auth charge is usually around $1. $25 may not be a significant amount for some, but it's non-trivial for a college student like myself. I would have been happy had they just notified me first instead of my bank. Terrible UX to be frank. I actua…

A $25 hold for a fare that might be $15 doesn't sound unreasonable? Is ride-sharing that big of a cost for your day to day?

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#16
post #12
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried Lyft the other day, but after they charged me $25 as an "authorization hold" without notification, I cancelled my ride and decided to stick with Uber. Note that Uber's auth charge is usually around $1. $25 may not be a significant amount for some, but it's non-trivial for a college student like myself. I would have been happy had they just notified me first instead of my bank. Terrible UX to be frank. I actua…

There must be something else going on, because the authorization hold has been $1.25 for Lyft for as far as I've been using it.

They may have some sort of risk factor, but it was definitely $25. Judging from the results on Google, the $25 charge is not uncommon.

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#17
post #15
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried Lyft the other day, but after they charged me $25 as an "authorization hold" without notification, I cancelled my ride and decided to stick with Uber. Note that Uber's auth charge is usually around $1. $25 may not be a significant amount for some, but it's non-trivial for a college student like myself. I would have been happy had they just notified me first instead of my bank. Terrible UX to be frank. I actua…

A $25 hold for a fare that might be $15 doesn't sound unreasonable? Is ride-sharing that big of a cost for your day to day?

It does sound reasonable, but only if you notify the user upfront. Do rental car companies charge you a $200 auth hold without telling you?

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#18
post #7
post #4

Presumably this is intentional -- Uber could raise prices and make more money, but right now they're choosing to keep prices very low in order to undercut Lyft and the cab companies with the assumption that having a monopoly will return more profits in the future. At least anecdotally, here in SF Lyft is almost always more expensive than Uber.

I tried Lyft the other day, but after they charged me $25 as an "authorization hold" without notification, I cancelled my ride and decided to stick with Uber. Note that Uber's auth charge is usually around $1. $25 may not be a significant amount for some, but it's non-trivial for a college student like myself. I would have been happy had they just notified me first instead of my bank. Terrible UX to be frank. I actua…

> I tried Lyft the other day, but after they charged me $25 as an "authorization hold" without notification, I cancelled my ride and decided to stick with Uber. Note that Uber's auth charge is usually around $1. $25 may not be a significant amount for some, but it's non-trivial for a college student like myself.

Most gas pumps authorize $100. Use a credit card.

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#19
post #7
post #4

Presumably this is intentional -- Uber could raise prices and make more money, but right now they're choosing to keep prices very low in order to undercut Lyft and the cab companies with the assumption that having a monopoly will return more profits in the future. At least anecdotally, here in SF Lyft is almost always more expensive than Uber.

I tried Lyft the other day, but after they charged me $25 as an "authorization hold" without notification, I cancelled my ride and decided to stick with Uber. Note that Uber's auth charge is usually around $1. $25 may not be a significant amount for some, but it's non-trivial for a college student like myself. I would have been happy had they just notified me first instead of my bank. Terrible UX to be frank. I actua…

I've only used Uber once, out of curiosity really. It was fine, just like a taxi, the price was a little less but not much. I asked the driver if he liked driving for Uber and he said it was his last shift, he was going back to driving for a taxi company as he couldn't make any money driving for Uber. As the city I live in has an over supply of taxis Uber can't exploit the customers, so it sounds like they need to exploit their drivers instead.

Re: Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue

#20

Uber is making the rest of us in SV look terrible. 1. Collect a huge pile of money at sky-high valuations from those who really should know better. 2. Ignore any sensible unit economics and undercut local taxi/transport services until those small businesses go bankrupt since they don't have Uber's money pile. 3. Evade local regulations that everyone else follows in the name of 'innovation' even though the reality is…

Well, about (2). Taxi got a bit cheaper. Also for peak times people use them to dodge surge pricing. It's equalizing.

Where have taxis gotten cheaper? Nowhere I've visited over the last few years.
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