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"Uber to move to self-driving cars" I still don't understand why that scenario requires an Uber. Once self-driving cars are a thing, why does Uber need to exis

"Uber to move to self-driving cars" I still don't understand why that scenario requires an Uber. Once self-driving cars are a thing, why does Uber need to exist? Their competitors in that case would be actual car manufacturers, and rental car companies that already have a distributed system for deploying cars (and partnerships with manufacturers). What edge does Uber have? Certainly they have mindshare, but that can evaporate as quickly as it was built.

kylecordes 10y ago
It seems to me that there will be a fair amount of consumer inertia. Uber may be able to benefit for a number of years from people thinking of this as the app to go to to get a ride, automated or otherwise. Of course in the long run (or even the medium run) that seems basically moot. There will be a zillion different ways to get essentially the same thing anyone else, I don't see any way for Uber to maintain a long-term advantage.
- ethanbond 10y ago
  What evidence does anyone have that users are reluctant to uninstall and/or download another app? It takes literally a few seconds to do.
  - IanCal 10y ago
    It depends if there's any real benefit. If I can choose between these situations where I pay basically the same amount of money: * Open app, press hail button * Search for app, install app, setup user details, put in all my card details, press hail button Why would I choose the latter?
    - ethanbond 10y ago
      That doesn't really answer my question.
      - IanCal 10y ago
        Well, I rather think it does, I have no reason to download another app unless I know it's going to be a lot cheaper. Otherwise I'm just going to stick with the thing that's easy and already setup.
        ethanbond 10y ago
        Okay, and I have 4 ridesharing apps currently installed, 2 of which were installed and setup while waiting for an Uber to arrive. There, we both have anecdata. I asked for evidence of "consumer inertia." One or two datapoints does not "inertia" make.
- martin_bech 10y ago
  Im not saying it will happen, but if Tesla is the first company to get to fullautonomous car sharing, by just six months, uber will be toast.
noir-york 10y ago
Very true. Uber was just an archetype; it could be Google, Mercedes or Avis.
aninhumer 10y ago
Uber has a platform for selling journeys, whereas car rental companies are geared up to selling travel for a period of time. The former makes a lot more sense for self driving cars. It will be easier for Uber to buy a fleet of self driving cars and replace their drivers than it will be for a car rental company to develop a platform for a new business model.
- serge2k 10y ago
  > than it will be for a car rental company to develop a platform for a new business model. How much money and how long would it really take to build out a basic uber type system? Uber does have an advantage in that they are already around and have that market share. Plus they have the system built and can start focusing on adding nice to have features and really polishing the experience.
dbbk 10y ago
Uber are the first private hire company to have global mindshare. The app works the same whenever you go to a different country. I suspect that will prove to be very valuable.
ThrustVectoring 10y ago
Network effects. Car manufacturers will still want a place where they can find many riders so that they can maximize utilization (and thus, profit), while riders will want a place where they can find many available cars (so they don't have to wait). There's going to be some platform that connects riders with self-driving transportation, the only questions are whose, how many, and how much value they extract out of being the platform.
Golden_Narwhal 10y ago
> What edge does Uber have? They have a service that already exists in the market so there's very little pivoting to be done, a brand that's recognized as a transportation network, a user-base, and I'd argue "getting an Uber" is becoming a neologism much like "Googling" is. I think those points give them a pretty strong advantage over the possible competitors.

kylecordes 10y ago

It seems to me that there will be a fair amount of consumer inertia. Uber may be able to benefit for a number of years from people thinking of this as the app to go to to get a ride, automated or otherwise. Of course in the long run (or even the medium run) that seems basically moot. There will be a zillion different ways to get essentially the same thing anyone else, I don't see any way for Uber to maintain a long-term advantage.

ethanbond 10y ago
What evidence does anyone have that users are reluctant to uninstall and/or download another app? It takes literally a few seconds to do.
- IanCal 10y ago
  It depends if there's any real benefit. If I can choose between these situations where I pay basically the same amount of money: * Open app, press hail button * Search for app, install app, setup user details, put in all my card details, press hail button Why would I choose the latter?
  - ethanbond 10y ago
    That doesn't really answer my question.
    - IanCal 10y ago
      Well, I rather think it does, I have no reason to download another app unless I know it's going to be a lot cheaper. Otherwise I'm just going to stick with the thing that's easy and already setup.
      - ethanbond 10y ago
        Okay, and I have 4 ridesharing apps currently installed, 2 of which were installed and setup while waiting for an Uber to arrive. There, we both have anecdata. I asked for evidence of "consumer inertia." One or two datapoints does not "inertia" make.
martin_bech 10y ago
Im not saying it will happen, but if Tesla is the first company to get to fullautonomous car sharing, by just six months, uber will be toast.

noir-york 10y ago

Very true. Uber was just an archetype; it could be Google, Mercedes or Avis.

aninhumer 10y ago

Uber has a platform for selling journeys, whereas car rental companies are geared up to selling travel for a period of time. The former makes a lot more sense for self driving cars. It will be easier for Uber to buy a fleet of self driving cars and replace their drivers than it will be for a car rental company to develop a platform for a new business model.

serge2k 10y ago
> than it will be for a car rental company to develop a platform for a new business model. How much money and how long would it really take to build out a basic uber type system? Uber does have an advantage in that they are already around and have that market share. Plus they have the system built and can start focusing on adding nice to have features and really polishing the experience.

dbbk 10y ago

Uber are the first private hire company to have global mindshare. The app works the same whenever you go to a different country. I suspect that will prove to be very valuable.

ThrustVectoring 10y ago

Network effects. Car manufacturers will still want a place where they can find many riders so that they can maximize utilization (and thus, profit), while riders will want a place where they can find many available cars (so they don't have to wait). There's going to be some platform that connects riders with self-driving transportation, the only questions are whose, how many, and how much value they extract out of being the platform.

Golden_Narwhal 10y ago

> What edge does Uber have? They have a service that already exists in the market so there's very little pivoting to be done, a brand that's recognized as a transportation network, a user-base, and I'd argue "getting an Uber" is becoming a neologism much like "Googling" is. I think those points give them a pretty strong advantage over the possible competitors.