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A rhetorical question: what would it take to build a not-for-profit but 'capitalist' platform like Uber with all the features that exist today (reviews, ratings
by blizkreeg 9y ago
A rhetorical question: what would it take to build a not-for-profit but 'capitalist' platform like Uber with all the features that exist today (reviews, ratings, scheduled rides etc) where drivers just pay a monthly subscription fee (say $25-100 based on earnings?) and take the entire earnings of the ride?
I understand the marketing costs of getting drivers and riders on the platform but end of the day, if the drivers are going to make more and riders get a similar experience, it would be an obvious choice to switch, wouldn't it?
Put another way, why isn't anyone doing it? I hardly believe that Uber/Lyft's model has a wide defensible moat.
- londons_explore 9y agoIt does have a wide defensible moat: Critical mass. Drivers won't use the app if there are only a handful of rides per day, and passengers won't use the app if the nearest car is 15 minutes away.
- blizkreeg 9y agoIt appears as a wide moat but I'd wager that in reality it's not. The key factor being unlike most networks, economics rule Uber and Lyft's platforms. That's a massive incentive. If as a rider, I can get a $5 ride for $4 with a similar experience and the driver knows he can make every last penny of that $4 (instead of $3), I don't see why eventually it wouldn't convince them to switch.
- SilasX 9y agoSomeone built it and it was discussed here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13529213 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13529213 http://libretaxi.org/ http://libretaxi.org/
- wcummings 9y agoA taxi-ride futures exchange