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That seems like a strange conclusion considering Uber doesn't even pay for the vehicles and fuel. UberPool is one pointed example of scale economics working. A

by 013a 10y ago

That seems like a strange conclusion considering Uber doesn't even pay for the vehicles and fuel. UberPool is one pointed example of scale economics working. Another would be Uber's brand encouraging more riders and the ability to scale into smaller markets that taxis normally couldn't service.

emodendroket 10y ago
> That seems like a strange conclusion considering Uber doesn't even pay for the vehicles and fuel. Well, they do, indirectly, in that that is part of the money the driver is paid. Yes, one way they've improved the numbers is squeezing their drivers more, but they can't do that forever. They're already encountering a lot of pushback. I question the claim that Uber is serving a bunch of small markets that traditional livery services do not. Do you have an example?
- cat199 10y ago
  Not OP, but I can say from personal observation/experience that while not 'small', Uber has increased taxi use in the general sense in Texas cities that are so car-centric and-or sprawl-like that traditional taxi services were never really popular (Houston, Austin, Dallas, etc) - having more drivers available in an ad-hoc manner has made the dispatch time much more reasonable (minutes vs a hit-or-miss scheduling ordeal of ~1h) and so using taxis (e.g. Uber) as a viable means of transportation, especially for things like social events, is much more common than it was before. I suspect the same is likely in similar places where 'everyone has a car' and the geography is very spread out.
  - emodendroket 10y ago
    That's the kind of place I live but there are multiple livery services operating here too.
- mrgordon 10y ago
  For example, Boca Raton in Florida is a wealthy area that had no taxi service until Uber. You literally had to get a limousine to go somewhere. Now its simple and cheap to get an Uber.
  - emodendroket 10y ago
    When you say a "limousine" are you not just describing a livery service where you call a dispatcher and they send a car?
    - mrgordon 10y ago
      The point is that you can get a $5-10 Uber ride instead of before where you'd spend $100+ on a limousine ride that you need to arrange well ahead of time. It wasn't a realistic option before except for special occasions.
sulam 10y ago
Simple economics argues you are wrong about the costs aspect of things here. Do you think drivers are simply doing public service? Perhaps they have special gas pumps that are 30% cheaper?
darpa_escapee 10y ago
> the ability to scale into smaller markets that taxis normally couldn't service. Go on.
- yesiamyourdad 10y ago
  Mountain towns in Colorado, for example. Uber and Lyft operate in the major mountain towns where there is no taxi service at all.

by 013a 10y ago

emodendroket 10y ago

> That seems like a strange conclusion considering Uber doesn't even pay for the vehicles and fuel. Well, they do, indirectly, in that that is part of the money the driver is paid. Yes, one way they've improved the numbers is squeezing their drivers more, but they can't do that forever. They're already encountering a lot of pushback. I question the claim that Uber is serving a bunch of small markets that traditional livery services do not. Do you have an example?

cat199 10y ago
Not OP, but I can say from personal observation/experience that while not 'small', Uber has increased taxi use in the general sense in Texas cities that are so car-centric and-or sprawl-like that traditional taxi services were never really popular (Houston, Austin, Dallas, etc) - having more drivers available in an ad-hoc manner has made the dispatch time much more reasonable (minutes vs a hit-or-miss scheduling ordeal of ~1h) and so using taxis (e.g. Uber) as a viable means of transportation, especially for things like social events, is much more common than it was before. I suspect the same is likely in similar places where 'everyone has a car' and the geography is very spread out.
- emodendroket 10y ago
  That's the kind of place I live but there are multiple livery services operating here too.
mrgordon 10y ago
For example, Boca Raton in Florida is a wealthy area that had no taxi service until Uber. You literally had to get a limousine to go somewhere. Now its simple and cheap to get an Uber.
- emodendroket 10y ago
  When you say a "limousine" are you not just describing a livery service where you call a dispatcher and they send a car?
  - mrgordon 10y ago
    The point is that you can get a $5-10 Uber ride instead of before where you'd spend $100+ on a limousine ride that you need to arrange well ahead of time. It wasn't a realistic option before except for special occasions.

sulam 10y ago

Simple economics argues you are wrong about the costs aspect of things here. Do you think drivers are simply doing public service? Perhaps they have special gas pumps that are 30% cheaper?

darpa_escapee 10y ago

> the ability to scale into smaller markets that taxis normally couldn't service. Go on.

yesiamyourdad 10y ago
Mountain towns in Colorado, for example. Uber and Lyft operate in the major mountain towns where there is no taxi service at all.