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I've said it elsewhere, but I'll say it again: Uber's endgame is not in the disruption of the taxi industry. They are really a logistics company. Once the regul

by soyiuz 11y ago

I've said it elsewhere, but I'll say it again: Uber's endgame is not in the disruption of the taxi industry. They are really a logistics company. Once the regulations catch up with them, they will be providing a logistics service for taxis (and possibly for trucking and deliveries). They are disrupting the antiquated software / infrastructure involved in the dispatching and operations of taxis. The initial competition with taxis is a temporary way of forcing them to adopt the new software / infrastructure. In Germany the logistics of taxi management are already far beyond what we see in the US. The value proposition is lower for both rider and driver. It would be interesting to learn about the companies involved in that market. (Who makes the dispatching radios, software vendors, profit margins, etc.)

mootothemax 11y ago
>I've said it elsewhere, but I'll say it again: Uber's endgame is not in the disruption of the taxi industry. On my more cynical days, I've convinced myself that their true endgame is an Enron-sized fraud. Somewhat unfair... and yet.
oniMaker 11y ago
Uber's endgame is to roll out globally with an attractive platform for users and an enticing offer for drivers, gain a dominant market share in as many markets as possible, then steadily replace all human drivers with self-driving cars. This will happen over the next several decades. At that point, the company will maintain service centers for their fleets, whose maintenance costs will be low enough to significantly increase their profit margins. Those larger profits will, of course, flow to the relatively small number of shareholders instead of being distributed among a larger human workforce, as they are currently. Listen to Peter Thiel. The endgame for superlative companies is monopoly.
- kuschku 11y ago
  And in Germany, where some of the largest Taxi dispatch services are already owned by the car manufacturers (Mercedes has a majority share in MyTaxi, for example), this is also possible – and without Uber ever being able to compete, as they can never be as cheap as a car manufacturer doing everything, from every bolt and screw to the taxi in-house.

by soyiuz 11y ago

mootothemax 11y ago

>I've said it elsewhere, but I'll say it again: Uber's endgame is not in the disruption of the taxi industry. On my more cynical days, I've convinced myself that their true endgame is an Enron-sized fraud. Somewhat unfair... and yet.

oniMaker 11y ago

Uber's endgame is to roll out globally with an attractive platform for users and an enticing offer for drivers, gain a dominant market share in as many markets as possible, then steadily replace all human drivers with self-driving cars. This will happen over the next several decades. At that point, the company will maintain service centers for their fleets, whose maintenance costs will be low enough to significantly increase their profit margins. Those larger profits will, of course, flow to the relatively small number of shareholders instead of being distributed among a larger human workforce, as they are currently. Listen to Peter Thiel. The endgame for superlative companies is monopoly.

kuschku 11y ago
And in Germany, where some of the largest Taxi dispatch services are already owned by the car manufacturers (Mercedes has a majority share in MyTaxi, for example), this is also possible – and without Uber ever being able to compete, as they can never be as cheap as a car manufacturer doing everything, from every bolt and screw to the taxi in-house.