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>> Uber paved the way for a lot of this. There is no way Google, Apple, Tesla or definitely an established car company would have been able to plow their way in

>> Uber paved the way for a lot of this. There is no way Google, Apple, Tesla or definitely an established car company would have been able to plow their way in to these local markets, bypassing and ignoring regulations until the point that cities became dependent on Uber. Now it is done, and it isn't particular a moat for Uber. But they fucking did it, they are the ones who need the recognition for it. I don't understand or like this attitude. A company creating a moat by breaking the law to gain an advantage over people following the law is not something to be admired or celebrated. (If I've misunderstood your tone I apologise but your final sentence gives me this impression).

aianus 10y ago
The point is they didn't create much of a moat but they did bust the regulations. So competitors are free to pop up and consumers win at the expense of taxi drivers and taxi medallion owners (usually separate people).
jimmywanger 10y ago
> A company creating a moat by breaking the law to gain an advantage over people following the law is not something to be admired or celebrated There are two wrong assumptions in this statement. First, the OP said that Uber didn't create a moat, they just paved the way. These days, after Uber moves into an area, other ride sharing services are able to enter the market without Uber being able to abuse their market position to push them out. That's definitely a positive. Second, Uber did not break the law in most situations. They re-interpreted a formerly gray area of the law, by asserting that their services shouldn't be regulated by taxi laws as they were not a taxi company. This was a legal battle that none of the entrenched players were willing to fight for various reasons, and with that legal precedent, that opened the way also for other ride sharing services to operate.
jacobolus 10y ago
You’re misunderstanding the argument. He is not claiming that Uber has any kind of moat. He’s instead arguing (as far as I can tell) that Uber’s disregard for local regulations expanded the supply and convenience of taxis to the point that more people could forgo car ownership or develop a habit of taxi travel not easily switched to other modes of transportation, paving the way for other companies to roll out fleets of autonomous vehicles. Not sure that argument really holds any water (the desirability of autonomous driving in an Uber-less world is counterfactual, so we can only speculate), but there you go.

aianus 10y ago

The point is they didn't create much of a moat but they did bust the regulations. So competitors are free to pop up and consumers win at the expense of taxi drivers and taxi medallion owners (usually separate people).

jimmywanger 10y ago

> A company creating a moat by breaking the law to gain an advantage over people following the law is not something to be admired or celebrated There are two wrong assumptions in this statement. First, the OP said that Uber didn't create a moat, they just paved the way. These days, after Uber moves into an area, other ride sharing services are able to enter the market without Uber being able to abuse their market position to push them out. That's definitely a positive. Second, Uber did not break the law in most situations. They re-interpreted a formerly gray area of the law, by asserting that their services shouldn't be regulated by taxi laws as they were not a taxi company. This was a legal battle that none of the entrenched players were willing to fight for various reasons, and with that legal precedent, that opened the way also for other ride sharing services to operate.

jacobolus 10y ago

You’re misunderstanding the argument. He is not claiming that Uber has any kind of moat. He’s instead arguing (as far as I can tell) that Uber’s disregard for local regulations expanded the supply and convenience of taxis to the point that more people could forgo car ownership or develop a habit of taxi travel not easily switched to other modes of transportation, paving the way for other companies to roll out fleets of autonomous vehicles. Not sure that argument really holds any water (the desirability of autonomous driving in an Uber-less world is counterfactual, so we can only speculate), but there you go.