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Bill Could Destroy Uber's Unsustainable Business Model

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Re: Bill Could Destroy Uber's Unsustainable Business Model

#81
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a distinction without a difference. There's only so many car models, what alternative would you suggest to a whitelist of acceptable cars for UberBlack?

Allowing the worker to choose their car. Quoting GGP: > (A) that the worker is free from the control and direction of the hirer in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of such work and in fact;

Curious, what is GGP in this context?

Re: Bill Could Destroy Uber's Unsustainable Business Model

#82
> Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Postmates derive a huge share of their sales from California: 41 percent of all Postmates' US sales are in California, 27 percent with DoorDash, 24 percent of Lyft's rides, 17 percent of Uber's rides, and 13 percent of UberEats' sales.

Not the main topic of the article but I'm surprised at how concentrated Uber and Lyft's revenue is the state of California. I can imagine smaller / newer companies getting started in one location and being lop sided in their sales, but those two are huge and have been around for years. That's some serious concentration of regulatory risk!

Re: Bill Could Destroy Uber's Unsustainable Business Model

#83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber isn't a real marketplace. "Sellers" (riders) don't set their own prices, and "consumers" (riders) don't get to choose who provides the service to them. Furthermore, prices are driven down artificially by investors who are willing to take a loss until other "markets" are forced out of business, at which point Uber will presumably raise its prices to actual taxi market rates.

> "Sellers" (riders) don't set their own prices They kinda do, by not accepting rides under a certain price and forcing a raise, like it has been reported. > Furthermore, prices are driven down artificially by investors who are willing to take a loss until other "markets" are forced out of business, at which point Uber will presumably raise its prices to actual taxi market rates. This will never happen. Anyone can st…

> This will never happen. Anyone can start a ride-sharing service with a tiny investment. There's no way bankrupting current companies will give Uber an unassailable market.

Also "markets" doesn't necessary mean ride-sharing markets, they can also destroy public transport and other new ways of transportation that doesn't fit well to Uber model.

Re: Bill Could Destroy Uber's Unsustainable Business Model

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Allowing the worker to choose their car. Quoting GGP: > (A) that the worker is free from the control and direction of the hirer in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of such work and in fact;

Curious, what is GGP in this context?

I meant "great-grandparent", referring to your comment quoting the Supreme Court ruling, but I realize now that I miscounted and it's actually one level further than that :(

Re: Bill Could Destroy Uber's Unsustainable Business Model

#85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Allowing the worker to choose their car. Quoting GGP: > (A) that the worker is free from the control and direction of the hirer in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of such work and in fact;

Curious, what is GGP in this context?

Great-grand-parent

Re: Bill Could Destroy Uber's Unsustainable Business Model

#86
post #82

> Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Postmates derive a huge share of their sales from California: 41 percent of all Postmates' US sales are in California, 27 percent with DoorDash, 24 percent of Lyft's rides, 17 percent of Uber's rides, and 13 percent of UberEats' sales. Not the main topic of the article but I'm surprised at how concentrated Uber and Lyft's revenue is the state of California. I can imagine smaller / newer co…

SV & population

Re: Bill Could Destroy Uber's Unsustainable Business Model

#87
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>the competitors are having a hard time because Uber can keep undercutting them They keep undercutting Uber, should Uber ignore that? Besides, Uber doesn't set prices significantly below the competitors, it relies on being a superior service with lower wait times and higher vehicle utilization. If you open Uber and Lyft you will typically see very similar prices, with the main difference that Uber can be lower becaus…

No... Uber is not more efficient than a taxi service. They were at one point but now they aren't. Taxi businesses have similar apps, drivers who know the area, and regular hours. If it were more efficient, than they wouldn't have needed all that SV money, they still need SV money while cutting worker wages, commanding a ton of the market, and externalizing most of their costs. There is no way Uber exists without some…

That’s wrong. Uber is more efficient than taxis at keeping each car highly utilized. Real-time utilization of a changing network is not an easy problem to solve. Taxis are empty a much greater percentage of the time than Ubers.

I won’t address the rest except to say that’s more a factor of them expanding into other markets or maintaining category position than efficiency.

Re: Bill Could Destroy Uber's Unsustainable Business Model

#88
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe the employee gets their lawyer involved, and then the company gets their entire cadre of highly-paid lawyers specializing in exactly this thing involved and regardless of whether the law's on the employee's side, he gets a legal fight that will just drain his resources for years and years (or until he's broke).

I'm not saying the employee would win, but nor would your scenario occur, in most cases. They'd just pay them off. It's easier to avoid that entirely and offer severance. To get back to my original point, being a real employee rather than a contractor means there's a cost to arbitrary termination, which provides the employee with some additional job security. This is one of the many reasons why one might prefer to be…

So basically it is better to have a terrible tax situation, because you’re hoping to hang on to a job where you aren’t wanted?

I’m sorry to hear it, that’s a really sad situation.

Re: Bill Could Destroy Uber's Unsustainable Business Model

#89
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a distinction without a difference. There's only so many car models, what alternative would you suggest to a whitelist of acceptable cars for UberBlack?

There's only so many computers. Graphic designers deliver an end product regardless of this. The end result is all that matters. The business of Uber is conveying people from point a to point b safely. Their contractors should have the ability to use whatever vehicle safely conveys people from a to b. If they don't have a choice then they are employees not contractors.

The computer a graphic designer users has nothing to do with the end product. The vehicle you ride in has a huge impact on the experience. Sure, Uber could designate certain dimensions of car, certain features, fit and finish, whatever, but it's easier to have a whitelist and probably a lot more reliable.

Re: Bill Could Destroy Uber's Unsustainable Business Model

#90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What?! I live in NYC, have taken dozens of Ubers/Lyfts to a variety of places, and have literally never once seen this.

Happened to us in Brooklyn just last weekend.

How many times have you taken Uber and how many times has it been a yellow cab?
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