Earlier quoted context omitted.
Uber Pool and Lyft Line are now the majority of rides in SF, not sure about other cities - but there is definitely a network affect there
Source?
In Silicon Valley Now, It’s Almost Always Winner Takes All
71–80 of 80 posts
Re: In Silicon Valley Now, It’s Almost Always Winner Takes All
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not the one who downvoted, but I would imagine this is why. * Overnight is a bit too quick. Uber's service has grown so quickly partly because they have an organization behind it to fight against regulations which is part of what made their rapid growth possible. * Implementing a standardized "blockchain" protocol to guarantee all of those things is a non trivial task * Go outside of SF Bay, whip out your phone w…
>The end of this market in the much longer term seems to be self driving cars and some form of shared ownership. I could see premium ride sharing clubs where you pay more to ride in an Audi or something with common ride sharing clubs where you ride in a van. It is this much longer term that I see Uber having more potential competition. I see it looking much like air travel today. Some will opt for fractional/full own…
It won't happen quite that way. With driverless cars, the rich peoples' cars will also be driverless and would be just as fast as all the others, so there'd be no reason to have any restrictions. The difference will be that while you're riding in some self-driving van you don't own with some other strangers and paying a fare for the ride, the rich guy will be riding in his self-driving Aston Martin drinking scotch and listening to whatever music he wants in some very luxurious seats.
Re: In Silicon Valley Now, It’s Almost Always Winner Takes All
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not the one who downvoted, but I would imagine this is why. * Overnight is a bit too quick. Uber's service has grown so quickly partly because they have an organization behind it to fight against regulations which is part of what made their rapid growth possible. * Implementing a standardized "blockchain" protocol to guarantee all of those things is a non trivial task * Go outside of SF Bay, whip out your phone w…
Good points. I meant "overnight" loosely, but I have a few other comments. * Any software may be branded - no one needs to know the word "blockchain" when they use a well-designed app. If a driver may have more take-home pay from an open network, there is no reason they wouldn't list themselves there in the same way many drivers are on both Uber and Lyft. * The blockchain would record all transactions in a manner tha…
>* I've taken Uber rides that reek of cigarette smoke. If anything, many cab companies have standards that you can't guarantee with the closest Uber. But like you say, reputation systems could address those issues.
Did you downrate the driver and complain? If not, the reputation system isn't going to work.
Re: In Silicon Valley Now, It’s Almost Always Winner Takes All
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
Didi Kuaidi is only competitive in china because of homefield advantage. They have used bribes and other tactics to hinder uber. Uber has had to fight with the government to even allow them to operate while didi kuaidi was granted a license to operate from day one because they are invested with big names who have government connections. Outside of china didi kuaidi can not compete with uber. It is the same reason why…
Even if we stipulate to all of these claims, so what? Do you expect China to change any of that soon? Maybe a better question is whether other populous nations like India, Nigeria, Brazil, etc. will decide to follow China's example.
It doesn't matter if China changes it or not. The point is that some Chinese company has a huge advantage in China. That doesn't extend to Brazil or India; it isn't going to do any better there than Uber, and probably much worse. Now, some other Brazilian or Indian company might have a huge advantage (again, thanks to corruption) in their respective country, but the Chinese company isn't likely to do well at all there because their usual tactics won't work since they don't have any insider connections in those countries the way they do in China.
Re: In Silicon Valley Now, It’s Almost Always Winner Takes All
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
SF is not the rest of the world.
you don't say. I'm sure this is the way it will go in any location with high enough density to get the network effects
Network effects for ridesharing are overstated. Its a commodity that'll race to the bottom. It already occurs in markets where both Uber and Lyft are present.
Re: In Silicon Valley Now, It’s Almost Always Winner Takes All
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you can get rides with Uber instantly versus waiting 20-30mins with the competition, then Uber can raise prices a bit and not lose many customers. People are impatient and Uber has already trained a vast audience that you click a button and get a car in 10mins or less. Once you get used to it, you won't settle for an inferior network where you have to wait 2x or 3x for a couple bucks less.
Uber keeps dropping their prices, not raising them.
It depends on the market you're in. Every market has different economics due to population, density, city layout, socioeconomic landscape, etc.
In many cities Uber is losing money, but in many others they are doing very well. They probably adjust prices to optimize for growth in the cities where they're trying to gain traction. In established cities (as in SF), they tend to raise prices slowly.
Re: In Silicon Valley Now, It’s Almost Always Winner Takes All
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
Blockchains will unseat Uber? Spoken like a true techie! Uber has a reputation system. It can double down on insurance/license guarantees. Decentralized has no immediate direct benefit for riders.
>> Decentralized has no immediate direct benefit for riders. Yes, but decentralized could have a very direct benefit for drivers... considering that sans an army of driverless cars, driver supply is what makes Uber's "sharing economy" work. (Not to mention that the insurance/license guarantees are not currently being satisfied.)
Drivers will go to where the users are, and I don't think decentralized blockchains are an implementation detail most users care about.
The lack of insurance/license guarantees hasn't prevented users from flocking to Uber.
Re: In Silicon Valley Now, It’s Almost Always Winner Takes All
#78I would argue that with perfect unregulated competition, having more than one firm with a stable market share is a sign of INefficiency. Small differences will get magnified, and whoever has the small edge will completely dominate, assuming rational behavior.
Not in the magic world of VC funding! There will always be at least one dominant firm and a few others setting tens of millions of dollars on fire by offering five dollar Lyft Lines in Manhattan hoping to get traction.
It's a bit like restaurants - you have to compete both with established, profitable competitors and upstarts willing to take a temporary operating loss.
It may be unsustainable, but I've gotten hundreds of dollars of discounted stuff from companies operating at a loss looking for traction... thanks, pension fund VC investors!
Re: In Silicon Valley Now, It’s Almost Always Winner Takes All
#79Uber isn't profitable. At some point, they have to raise prices and make a profit. At that point, the competition will swarm in to undercut them. The barrier for a consumer to use a different app is almost nothing.
Re: In Silicon Valley Now, It’s Almost Always Winner Takes All
#80I would argue that with perfect unregulated competition, having more than one firm with a stable market share is a sign of INefficiency. Small differences will get magnified, and whoever has the small edge will completely dominate, assuming rational behavior.
You're assuming that different people have identical preferences. They don't. Some are more price-sensitive, while others are more interested in quality, which can itself be broken down into any number of specific factors about competing services. This is totally rational behavior, in the economic sense of the word.