Uber itself has a network effect. The more riders there are, the more drivers you induce via price demand. With a large amount of drivers, you have quicker pi

Uber itself has a network effect. The more riders there are, the more drivers you induce via price demand. With a large amount of drivers, you have quicker pickup times due to more drivers. With a large enough amount of demand, you make things like uberpool economically possible since the probability of another rider wanting a ride along your route is higher. With probability, you make it a near certainty over large numbers. It's kind of like insurance. By having a large money stream available, you can create a tech advantage for things like uberpool to be better executed, where a city app competitor could not pool the income streams of many cities to make better tech.