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Uber S-1

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Re: Uber S-1

#511

Post by agumonkey »

chollida1 wrote: post #10

Note: - Expected to be teh largest IPO this year in the US. - 10th largest all time - trying to raise around $10B - 2018 Year Ended Revenue $11.27 billion - 2018 Year Ended Net Income $997 million - 2017 Year End lost $4.03 billion. - 10 billion trips in September 2018, up from 5 billion in September 2017 - Gross Bookings From Ridesharing $41.5 billion in 2018 - Revenue From Ridesharing Products $9.2 Billion in 2018…

got me curious, 10 largest IPO so far:

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https:... [gcache]

Re: Uber S-1

#512

Post by bkor »

mlinsey wrote: post #448
halr9000 wrote: post #403

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people I know hate taxis. Uber can nearly raise prices to parity with cabs.

Hailing cabs by phone (and later on, using the non-Uber hailing services that interact directly with cabs) never worked as well for me as Uber. Takes too long for them to get there, and the incentive for them to abandon your request and pick up a fare they find on the way is too strong. Taxis only make sense in the very small perecent of the US where you can walk outside and hail one coming down the street.

> Takes too long for them to get there, and the incentive for them to abandon your request and pick up a fare they find on the way is too strong.

The few times I've reserved a taxi for someone the estimation was accurate and the driver very friendly. Same for the company I work for, no real issues with taxis. Company wise it's often easier to just take public transport though (quickest to/from airport).

Re: Uber S-1

#513

Post by xyzzyz »

virgilp wrote: post #481
semi-extrinsic wrote: post #459

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. The other day I was driving and thinking about this, and I started noticing "how many times during this drive have I looked another human (driver or pedestrian) in the eyes in order to determine their intentions?" It was a significant number even in a 15 minute drive. I was still thinking about it during my bike ride later in the day, and I noticed that more than a dozen times I exchanged looks and nods with…

I got bear-ish on self-driving cars when I realized that, in order to be able to drive in Bucharest, you _have to_ break the (letter of the) law fairly often[1]. Knowing when to do so requires "common sense" which is a notoriously difficult nut to crack - computer vision may be advanced enough, but it's simply not enough. I still think it will evolve in time and reach mass-market, it's just that it will take lots of…

I’m not sure that figuring out when to break the law in your example is any harder then figuring out when turning left is legal and safe on unprotected intersection. This is not to say that it's easy, but autonomous vehicles need to solve problems exactly like that one on a regular basis.

Re: Uber S-1

#514

Post by aviraldg »

spaceman_2020 wrote: post #462
cavisne wrote: post #444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They did not get "out competed" in china, a country where competition has nothing to do with success. Likewise in Russia. Grab is the only company to out compete Uber so far.

Ola vs Uber in India is so similar in terms of experience that I literally open the first app that's on my screen. There is no way to differentiate in this market. The only thing that would make me switch is a guarantee of a good driver, but that would just raise the costs absurdly.

There is actually -- both the companies have certain cities where they seem to have many more drivers than the other. Due to this, when I'm in Bangalore, I prefer Uber, but when in Calcutta, I prefer Ola.

Re: Uber S-1

#515

Post by reubenmorais »

freewilly1040 wrote: post #255
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. http://www.rideaustin.com/ was launched in Austin a couple years ago when Uber and Lyft were temporarily kicked out of the city. The app had some growing pains but now I use them whenever I can in preference to Uber and Lyft because they pay their drivers more. If Uber and Lyft suddenly went away Ride could easily pop up all over. Of course, Uber and Lyft right now ARE so big because of all the advantages…

How is that a counterexample when they started when Uber and Lyft couldn't operate? Are there examples of local services that sprouted up and had to compete with Uber and Lyft and got off the ground?

Yes, Brazil/South America have 99Taxi and Cabify, although most drivers and users have 2 or 3 apps and switch around depending on promotions, price of a specific route, etc.

Re: Uber S-1

#516

Post by icebraining »

pbreit wrote: post #430
rorykoehler wrote: post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Startups won't win this. Manufacturers will. They have brand, cars, and soon can license the self driving tech. How hard is it for a billion dollar company to roll out a ride hailing app? Think about where that leaves Uber. They have to buy the cars from said manufacturers. This already gives them a significantly larger cost base and let's face it, while they also have a brand it is no more powerful a draw than Merce…

This is one of the more ill-informed tweets. How hard is it to roll out a ride hailing up? Borderline impossible. Especially for companies that have zero competency in service, software and marketplaces.

> How hard is it to roll out a ride hailing up? Borderline impossible.

So how do we already have Lyft, Cabify, MyTaxi, Bolt, Kapten, Didi, AutoNavi, Meituan, Grab, OlaCabs, and a bunch more?

Re: Uber S-1

#517

Post by icebraining »

djakjxnanjak wrote: post #493
lsc wrote: post #466

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm... not sure you'd need a lot of network effects? I mean, you need a critical mass of drivers and riders, but they can be all in a small area and you can still provide a service. I mean, for the occasional user, sure, brand recognition matters; If I'm going from a strange airport to a hotel, I'm probably going to use the brand i know. But usually? I switch from uber to lyft on my daily commute based on saving a fe…

Sounds like Uber and Lyft are both subsidizing your rides - but for a new service to get off the ground would require even more subsidies. There’s a cost to idling and waiting for someone to come along and pay you for a ride. The higher the density of riders and drivers, the lower this cost and the less subsidy required for a given price level.

You only need to idle if you're using a single app. Many drivers use multiple apps at the same time.

Re: Uber S-1

#518

Post by icebraining »

ddalex wrote: post #508
walrus1066 wrote: post #501

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Uber/Lyft do have a VCs-will-not-race-to-the-bottom-with-them moat, and tomorrow they might as well raise their prices to turn profitable." That's the multi billion $ question, if they hike prices to become profitable, will customers swallow it, or jump to local alternatives. My feeling is the latter, I don't think you get economy of scale for running a taxi business, because your biggest cost is paying local driver…

I have several apps on my phone for calling a ride. I usually pick Uber because it's cheapest, but if there is any hint of a surcharge I scan all of the apps to pick the cheapest.

Same here; Uber isn't even my first choice anymore, between the four we have available (five if you include taxis).

Re: Uber S-1

#519

Post by icebraining »

arsenico wrote: post #509
halr9000 wrote: post #403

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people I know hate taxis. Uber can nearly raise prices to parity with cabs.

In the US, correct. In most of Western Europe a taxi is normally a very different experience from Uber X - a nice car, nice driver, great navigation and safe trip. Yes, you're paying extra, but the comfort is also very different, especially when going from airports.

Which Western Europeans countries have you tried?

Re: Uber S-1

#520

Post by arsenico »

icebraining wrote: post #519
arsenico wrote: post #509

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, correct. In most of Western Europe a taxi is normally a very different experience from Uber X - a nice car, nice driver, great navigation and safe trip. Yes, you're paying extra, but the comfort is also very different, especially when going from airports.

Which Western Europeans countries have you tried?

Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, UK (hah), France, some cities in Italy, some places in Spain.
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