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Removing the driver reduces the price significantly, so the business model of cars on demand is probably viable outside of dense areas with self driving cars.
by discodave 10y ago
Removing the driver reduces the price significantly, so the business model of cars on demand is probably viable outside of dense areas with self driving cars.
That being said, for Uber to win the self driving car race they have to beat Google, Apple, Tesla, Didi and the automotive incumbents as Sarah Lacy has been pointing out for at least 12 months.
- metaphorm 10y agothey don't have to beat those companies, they have to negotiate good rates for vendor services with those companies.
- code_duck 10y agoOr be acquired by one of them.
- GVIrish 10y agoWhat does Uber have that would not be feasible for any of those companies to build? Uber doesn't lock in customers or create any switching pain whatsoever so their current customer base doesn't given them much of an advantage. Their software is slick and robust but it's not so technically advanced that a competitor couldn't create their own ride-calling and dispatch system (as evidenced by Lyft).
- metaphorm 10y ago> What does Uber have that would not be feasible for any of those companies to build? usage data. they know where people that use their app actually go on a daily basis, and how much they're willing to pay for that service.
- dinkumthinkum 10y agoThere other ways to get traveler data, people have been modeling this for decades.
- aianus 10y agoHave you seen how bad and outdated the software is in even high end, expensive cars? I wouldn't hold my breath that any auto maker besides Tesla could compete with Uber.