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That is... Overly optimistic at best. You're assuming every taxi company on Earth: * Thinks they have a logistics problem in the first place. * Thinks that so

That is... Overly optimistic at best. You're assuming every taxi company on Earth: * Thinks they have a logistics problem in the first place. * Thinks that software can solve that problem. * Are in the market for software to solve that problem. * Think that Uber's software is the software that would solve that problem the best. That's a hell of a lot of assumptions, each of which is fairly easy to pick apart.

ProAm 9y ago
I politely disagree. Taxi companies hate ride sharing companies. As an industry that refused change for decades saw a software company come in and eat away market share quickly. If Uber were to 'go away' and allow the taxi company to use the ride hailing software they would be all over it. [1][2][3][4] And this is just the taxi industry, there are plenty of industries that would love to use a logistics software to help their business. The only real magic Uber has is this software, the rest is easily replaceable or overhead. [1] https://daymondjohnssuccessformula.com/launch-pad/cab-companies-hate-uber-means/ https://daymondjohnssuccessformula.com/launch-pad/cab-compan... [2]https://www.watchdog.org/california/the-uber-effect-why-cab-companies-hate-ridesharing/article_93880bef-beb1-52d6-8a4a-c4b2269f95c5.html https://www.watchdog.org/california/the-uber-effect-why-cab-... [3] https://www.quora.com/Why-do-taxi-drivers-hate-Uber-if-its-competitive-business https://www.quora.com/Why-do-taxi-drivers-hate-Uber-if-its-c... [4] https://therideshareguy.com/what-taxis-need-to-do-to-survive-uber-and-lyft/ https://therideshareguy.com/what-taxis-need-to-do-to-survive...
- watwut 9y ago
  Ubers big magic is subsidising rides. You can do ride hailing app without uber.
  - ProAm 9y ago
    Of course you can but most taxi companies do not want to be in the app development business. And most other ride hailing apps are not very good. They'd rather focus on their main line of work which is transportation. People know Uber, that app works, people would use it if it was available. The subsidizing is what made them a household name, along with the ease of use.
    - madeofpalk 9y ago
      I understand that there are taxi companies worldwide and I'm sure they operate different by different types of people, but I still think you're overestimating these taxi companies and what they want. I worked for a very big "Old Media" company in Australia when we rebuilt one of their key properties. Their "definition of success" was to _not accelerate the rate of decline_ of page views. Since then I've realised that these types of businesses are ran by people who are motivated differently than 'us'.
      - ProAm 9y ago
        For sure, I agree with that. My original point was Uber has a pivot that they can use to make money. Layoff most the people, license the software, profit. It might not work for everyone, but it will definitely work for some.
    - watwut 9y ago
      They could be food if they would be willing to invest money and refine refine refine. They are not. So, even if they would buy from Uber it would be for cheap. Plus any other startup or company can build such app to compete.
      - ProAm 9y ago
        Im not sure what you mean by 'They could be food'? Any start up could build this, but most companies don't want to deal with an MVP and the bugs that come with it, or a startup that may or may not exist in 6 months, etc... Companies will over pay for enterprise grade software if it has a history of just working. This is why Uber has an advantage, software that has a track record of doing what it says it does.
        watwut 9y ago
        I meant "good", but either typo or autocorrelat got in the way. I think that companies like taxis are cheap and while they are willing to pay, they are not willing to pay much.

ProAm 9y ago

I politely disagree. Taxi companies hate ride sharing companies. As an industry that refused change for decades saw a software company come in and eat away market share quickly. If Uber were to 'go away' and allow the taxi company to use the ride hailing software they would be all over it. [1][2][3][4] And this is just the taxi industry, there are plenty of industries that would love to use a logistics software to help their business. The only real magic Uber has is this software, the rest is easily replaceable or overhead. [1] https://daymondjohnssuccessformula.com/launch-pad/cab-companies-hate-uber-means/ https://daymondjohnssuccessformula.com/launch-pad/cab-compan... [2]https://www.watchdog.org/california/the-uber-effect-why-cab-companies-hate-ridesharing/article_93880bef-beb1-52d6-8a4a-c4b2269f95c5.html https://www.watchdog.org/california/the-uber-effect-why-cab-... [3] https://www.quora.com/Why-do-taxi-drivers-hate-Uber-if-its-competitive-business https://www.quora.com/Why-do-taxi-drivers-hate-Uber-if-its-c... [4] https://therideshareguy.com/what-taxis-need-to-do-to-survive-uber-and-lyft/ https://therideshareguy.com/what-taxis-need-to-do-to-survive...

watwut 9y ago
Ubers big magic is subsidising rides. You can do ride hailing app without uber.
- ProAm 9y ago
  Of course you can but most taxi companies do not want to be in the app development business. And most other ride hailing apps are not very good. They'd rather focus on their main line of work which is transportation. People know Uber, that app works, people would use it if it was available. The subsidizing is what made them a household name, along with the ease of use.
  - madeofpalk 9y ago
    I understand that there are taxi companies worldwide and I'm sure they operate different by different types of people, but I still think you're overestimating these taxi companies and what they want. I worked for a very big "Old Media" company in Australia when we rebuilt one of their key properties. Their "definition of success" was to _not accelerate the rate of decline_ of page views. Since then I've realised that these types of businesses are ran by people who are motivated differently than 'us'.
    - ProAm 9y ago
      For sure, I agree with that. My original point was Uber has a pivot that they can use to make money. Layoff most the people, license the software, profit. It might not work for everyone, but it will definitely work for some.
  - watwut 9y ago
    They could be food if they would be willing to invest money and refine refine refine. They are not. So, even if they would buy from Uber it would be for cheap. Plus any other startup or company can build such app to compete.
    - ProAm 9y ago
      Im not sure what you mean by 'They could be food'? Any start up could build this, but most companies don't want to deal with an MVP and the bugs that come with it, or a startup that may or may not exist in 6 months, etc... Companies will over pay for enterprise grade software if it has a history of just working. This is why Uber has an advantage, software that has a track record of doing what it says it does.
      - watwut 9y ago
        I meant "good", but either typo or autocorrelat got in the way. I think that companies like taxis are cheap and while they are willing to pay, they are not willing to pay much.