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Uber CEO Stunned When He Heard Cost of 3-Mile Uber Ride

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Re: Uber CEO Stunned When He Heard Cost of 3-Mile Uber Ride

#31

Post by iepathos »

npace12 wrote: post #2

Last year, I traveled from DC to NY overnight, and it was 2.5x surge pricing. When i got to my destination, I stuck around in the car to see what the driver app was saying. I paid close to $900, driver took ~$250, the entire surge pricing difference went to Uber. I was thinking, that's an crazy markup over their AWS bill but really it's just a robbery.

Yeah, it is a crazy markup and it's why they were able to increase their ARR by 58% this last year. I think the more frustrating thing is lack of serious competition in the space to keep them from jacking up the prices down so much. Lyft should be drastically undercutting Uber in order to force them to lower prices or out of the market but they aren't, instead they are on average charging more. Need better startups in the space

Re: Uber CEO Stunned When He Heard Cost of 3-Mile Uber Ride

#33

Post by Firmwarrior »

WillPostForFood wrote: post #22
jonathankoren wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a complete lie. On a $116 surge price trip, drivers get an extra $5.[0] THIS is how Uber finally turned a profit. None of that Kalanick bullshit about how only self driving cars can make Uber profitable.[1][2] It’s jacking up prices and pocketing the difference. Never trust a tech bro. They’re all grifters and liars. [0] https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8LCks4j/ [1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/08/19/…

It’s a complete lie. On a $116 surge price trip, drivers get an extra $5 It would be helpful to have a better source than hearsay on TikTok from some rando whose gig seems to be ranting about tech bros. Even a an Uber driver on TikTok would be good.

How about some secondhand hearsay? I've heard this same thing from Lyft drivers. Their customers are all pissed, the drivers ask why, it's because a $30 ride is costing them $100. Meanwhile, the driver still just gets the usual rate

Re: Uber CEO Stunned When He Heard Cost of 3-Mile Uber Ride

#34

Post by bawolff »

zapdrive wrote: post #18
reducesuffering wrote: post #11

Could someone be the CEO of McDonalds thinking a Big Mac meal in the US costs $3? Big “It’s one banana, Michael, how much could it cost? $10?” Vibes. https://youtu.be/Nl_Qyk9DSUw

That joke would stop working in a few years when a banana would actually start costing 10$.

Ah yes that quadruple digit inflation rate we are experiencing /s

Re: Uber CEO Stunned When He Heard Cost of 3-Mile Uber Ride

#35

Post by mcpackieh »

SV_BubbleTime wrote: post #24
ecshafer wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Greyhound nyc to dc is like $20 and has a dozen buses a day. Plus you have Amtrak. Why take an Uber?

Is that really the cost or figurative? Because I would take the bus from NYC into PA and it was like $70 twenty years ago.

About 15 years ago I took a bus from Philly to DC and it cost $5.

Re: Uber CEO Stunned When He Heard Cost of 3-Mile Uber Ride

#37

Post by jonathankoren »

bawolff wrote: post #29
jonathankoren wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a complete lie. On a $116 surge price trip, drivers get an extra $5.[0] THIS is how Uber finally turned a profit. None of that Kalanick bullshit about how only self driving cars can make Uber profitable.[1][2] It’s jacking up prices and pocketing the difference. Never trust a tech bro. They’re all grifters and liars. [0] https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8LCks4j/ [1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/08/19/…

> It’s jacking up prices and pocketing the difference. Obviously the way to make profit is to charge more than you spend. Literally the definition.

Hotter take: Pocketing the excess value of someone else's labor and capital is theft.

Re: Uber CEO Stunned When He Heard Cost of 3-Mile Uber Ride

#38

Post by mcpackieh »

midoridensha wrote: post #27
ecshafer wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Greyhound nyc to dc is like $20 and has a dozen buses a day. Plus you have Amtrak. Why take an Uber?

Because with those other services, you have to be around other people. Americans hate that.

Amtrak at night is quiet, generally pretty empty, and very civilized. Nothing at all like an intracity bus or subway. But I think many Americans would never even give it a chance. Maybe that's why it's so nice...

Re: Uber CEO Stunned When He Heard Cost of 3-Mile Uber Ride

#39

Post by sheepscreek »

marcus_holmes wrote: post #23

But this was always the plan, wasn't it? Uber has been losing money since it started, subsiding our travel with VC money, I thought clearly always with the plan of "once we get market dominance we can jack up the prices and make all that money back". I don't think they were ever shy about this plan. So now we're at that point. Either we put up with the new prices, or move on to another app, or find another transport…

That part is understandable. What doesn’t make sense is the ratio.

Driver pays for the car, gas and their time. And Uber pockets 50% of the fare? I’ve heard this from at least a few vocal drivers.

Apple App Store’s 30% cut as a software service provider seems like a bargain.

Re: Uber CEO Stunned When He Heard Cost of 3-Mile Uber Ride

#40

Post by rabuse »

marcus_holmes wrote: post #23

But this was always the plan, wasn't it? Uber has been losing money since it started, subsiding our travel with VC money, I thought clearly always with the plan of "once we get market dominance we can jack up the prices and make all that money back". I don't think they were ever shy about this plan. So now we're at that point. Either we put up with the new prices, or move on to another app, or find another transport…

They were betting on self-driving cars originally, but it became too long of a waiting game for that.
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