A Financial Model Comparing Car Ownership with UberX in Los Angeles
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Re: A Financial Model Comparing Car Ownership with UberX in Los Angeles
#2His calculations are simply wrong. In his examples, the cost of annual car ownership remains $12,744 despite the different mileage estimates.
If you drive only 5,000 miles per year, your ownership costs are going to be much less than if you drive 13,000 miles. Why did he not adjust the cost of ownership?
Re: A Financial Model Comparing Car Ownership with UberX in Los Angeles
#3I live in Los Angeles, I have sold my car and now take UberX everywhere. I have a number of reasons for this:
1) I am not a great driver. I learned to drive in a rural area where the dynamics of sharing the road were simply different. It's not fun for me to drive in LA.
2) Parking in this town is a challenge.
3) I telecommute.
4) When I go on a long-drive vacation, I simply rent a car.
For me and my family, in our calculations, for a family with a telecommuter in Los Angeles, UberX is well worth it. We don't have to worry about parking when we get somewhere, we don't have to worry about maintenance, and when we do want to go on a long road trip, we simply rent a nice big car that makes sense for that particular trip.
Re: A Financial Model Comparing Car Ownership with UberX in Los Angeles
#4He makes average assumptions about car ownership but then makes optimistic assumptions about UberX. Like no surge pricing, productivity and wait times.
The biggest thing is of course Uber is available in a few cities. Places like SF and Manhattan it might be convenient since everything is nearby but in LA and Silicon Valley everything is spread out.
Re: A Financial Model Comparing Car Ownership with UberX in Los Angeles
#5"About two years ago I sold my Lexus GS 300 and replaced it with a sleek single-speed Pure Fix commuter bike"
This brought a vision of someone trying to descend from capitol hill here in seattle on a fixie (something I saw the last week) - a fixie, while still stupid is at least workable in LA (though I'd still never own one, I prefer gears), it still seems wholly impractical for seattle.
Re: A Financial Model Comparing Car Ownership with UberX in Los Angeles
#6The numbers are skewed because the car ownership costs are based on national averages(lower than LA averages, presumably).
I think any Angeleno would kill to pay the national average for fuel costs and commute 25.2 miles in 25 minutes.
Re: A Financial Model Comparing Car Ownership with UberX in Los Angeles
#7He makes average assumptions about car ownership but then makes optimistic assumptions about UberX. Like no surge pricing, productivity and wait times. The biggest thing is of course Uber is available in a few cities. Places like SF and Manhattan it might be convenient since everything is nearby but in LA and Silicon Valley everything is spread out.
The other biggest thing: uber is a one company, and a startup. They may be forced to radically change their business models, their service may turn to shit, and they might even go up in smoke overnight.
Re: A Financial Model Comparing Car Ownership with UberX in Los Angeles
#8Wow, I was floored by the average cost of ownership. Mine is nowhere near that low:
1. $0. I don't have payments is 15 years old, so it's not depreciating significantly. 2. $1250. I fill up about once every two weeks. Old cars have less safety features, which me ans better fuel efficiency. 25 mpg. 3. $0. I've never had an auto loan. 4. $300. Old car and perfect driving record. Still have good coverage (uninsured motorist, etc.). 5. $500. Here's where an old car starts to bite. 6. $355. I have no clue so I'll go with what they said.
Total ownership: $2405. That's not significantly more than riding the bus would cost.
Re: A Financial Model Comparing Car Ownership with UberX in Los Angeles
#9He completely omits the effect of surge pricing but expects you to use Uber to commute to work.
Re: A Financial Model Comparing Car Ownership with UberX in Los Angeles
#10The numbers are skewed because the car ownership costs are based on national averages(lower than LA averages, presumably). I think any Angeleno would kill to pay the national average for fuel costs and commute 25.2 miles in 25 minutes.
I live in LA, we're LUCKY to go 10 miles in in 25 minutes.