61–70 of 96 posts
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On a personal note, I hope you're wrong, because Uber has added a ton of value to my life.
Yes it has, mine too, I love cheap, easy rides. What makes that possible though is because Uber is essentially selling $1 bills for 75 cents. Uber at the prices it currently charges in most markets is not sustainable.
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They may add value vs taxis, but would Uber or Lyft add value vs any other startup taxi service? Expanding further, How about a taxi-app you and I could sit down and hack out? How much value-add is there in an Uber or Lyft vs what we could do?
In my area, they add no real value over the standard taxi companies. Literally the only advantage to them is that they're cheaper (which is an artificial and unsustainable difference). Everything else they do is also done equally well by the cab companies. That may be why there aren't an increasing number of Uber and Lyft drivers here, but the taxi companies are expanding.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
They may add value vs taxis, but would Uber or Lyft add value vs any other startup taxi service? Expanding further, How about a taxi-app you and I could sit down and hack out? How much value-add is there in an Uber or Lyft vs what we could do?
In my area, they add no real value over the standard taxi companies. Literally the only advantage to them is that they're cheaper (which is an artificial and unsustainable difference). Everything else they do is also done equally well by the cab companies. That may be why there aren't an increasing number of Uber and Lyft drivers here, but the taxi companies are expanding.
I have never seen a non-app taxi service do this, and it's a real genuine technology enabled value add. Is it 50 billion bucks worth? Probably not. But it isn't 0 either.
Neither of these companies is actually adding any value at all as far as I can tell. Uber is undercutting taxis/transit with investor-subsidized rides and still has no idea how it's going to turn a profit unless it becomes the only ride in town. WeWork is pure middleman with some good branding. It amazes me that people believe these valuations. However, I can't agree with the cat comment; I'm sure Uber engineering ar…
Uber got to where it is today because Taxi companies weren't able to adapt and ignored the threat until it was too late. Really, all people want from a Taxi is an easy, reliable way to summon transport and take you to wherever. Everyone hates calling a taxi company on the phone, speaking to a surly dispatcher, giving an address verbally and then waiting for an indeterminate amount of time for the taxi to show up-- an…
Neither of these companies is actually adding any value at all as far as I can tell. Uber is undercutting taxis/transit with investor-subsidized rides and still has no idea how it's going to turn a profit unless it becomes the only ride in town. WeWork is pure middleman with some good branding. It amazes me that people believe these valuations. However, I can't agree with the cat comment; I'm sure Uber engineering ar…
Have you ever used Uber? Did you ever use Taxis back when they existed? It's astonishing to me how much better Uber is than Taxis, there's no question that they're adding a ton of value compared to what they're replace, at least for me as a consumer. But I hardly think I'm alone in this. On the other-hand will they be able to profit from this value? That's at best tbd, and likely already a conclusive no, they've buil…
I used (15y+ ago) to go to work and back by taxi every day for years. Recently (last 2-3y) I got taxi on occasionally; also living in a different area. No real difference with app based ones except for the payment methods. That's it, no need to pay anything for app-based ones (not uber) in the taxi, immediately. That makes the ride shorter and I don't need to care if the taxi will be equipped with a POS terminal as I seldom carry cash.
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I think Uber (and Lyft) are absolutely adding value. I now regularly take ride shares when I would previously have driven or extremely reluctantly taken cabs. I also talk to my rideshare drivers and the platforms provide some much needed cashflow (and perhaps day-filling) for people who seem genuinely happy to avail themselves of the income opportunity provided. I see no reason to think that those two companies could…
The problem I see with Uber is that, at the end of things, all they provide is some software running on some servers. While not an easy weekend project, it would not be impossible for a distributed system to replace it, making whatever life they have almost certainly temporary. Every action they take to extract more profit will only increase the pressure toward development and move towards a distributed system. As lo…
That's true, and this isn't an argument for the bad things they do, but they did force the taxi industry forward a few decades. Prior to Uber/Lyft, taxis in most areas were outright hostile. I had called to schedule a taxi ride the day before and had them no-show. It was so common for taxis to feign their credit card machine didn't work that it was outlawed (but still done)--they preferred cash to avoid reporting and fees. Hailing taxis in most cities isn't permitted. Minimum distance requirements have caused me problems (been refused or been treated hostilely even when offered to overpay or overtip). Those things are never an issue anymore.
In addition, they've also made it much easier to track down lost items left behind or to dispute incorrect fares or taking longer routes.
The incentives in place with taxis alone didn't address these things.
Those things, in addition to having consistency when traveling between cities and countries, sounds like a reason to have stickiness to one service. McDonalds is popular even though it's not a great meal and people could eat anywhere.
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Neither Uber nor Lyft are really ridesharing. They are ride hailing apps. Unless you are sharing with other passengers? I didn't realise they offered this?
They've been doing this for years now. Significant savings that way too.
Goes off to see just how prevalent real ridesharing is on the platforms
The technology also isn’t special enough that it alone can support the massive value of Ubers stock.
Last time I used Uber? this week. Last time I used coworking space? This week. Last time I used Oracle? ...
Meanwhile, Oracle made $3.8 billion of net income in 2018.