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Too bad they won't escape the same fate as Uber, which is likely bankruptcy due to it being impossible to subsidize losses forever. Uber has a non-zero chance
by exogeny 9y ago
Too bad they won't escape the same fate as Uber, which is likely bankruptcy due to it being impossible to subsidize losses forever.
Uber has a non-zero chance at figuring out self-driving cars first and not only surviving, but being one of the world's most valuable companies. Lyft's chances at that are zero, which implies either bankruptcy or a merger of equals with an equally doomed, non-differentiated competitor.
- rtx 9y agoAs somebody who gets immense value out of Uber I disagree. They can at least double the price in my location and still be in business. It's easier for me to do business through an App.
- exogeny 9y agoThey can't do that in just about every major city in the world, which is where they'd have to not only compete, but win in order to justify their valuation. Right now in NYC they're roughly equal with taxis during non-surge hours, and they can only do that by subsidizing about half of the cost. That is not a recipe for success.
- xbmcuser 9y agoUber and Lyft like services will need to survive for the next 10 years then buy or lease Ai cars and bank in larger portion of the revenue. But for that they will need huge investment rounds and no competition from car manufacturers or large pocket companies like Google or Apple. That could buy and put in a few million ai cars on the road with the amount of cash they are holding.
- tmh79 9y agoThe subsidies in ridesharing seems to be shifting or easing due to the scale at which these companies now operate. Subsidizing riders is a lot easier at 100m rides/year then at 1b rides/year or 10b rides/year.