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If Uber and Lyft prices go up 1.5x to 2x, that suddenly means that in cities, taxis undercut them. I'll let someone chime in who understands the taxi business
by mhneu 8y ago
If Uber and Lyft prices go up 1.5x to 2x, that suddenly means that in cities, taxis undercut them.
I'll let someone chime in who understands the taxi business financials better. But in my observations, Uber and Lyft are only slightly cheaper than taxis. If prices go up, taxi companies will cut into their profits.
I'll also say we (as a society) are very lucky that Lyft emerged as a real competitor to Uber. If one of Lyft or Uber had failed a few years ago, we'd be in a total monopoly situation by now, and "Uber" would have similar meaning as "Kleenex" or "Scotch tape" -- that is, there's only one kind of smartphone ride hailing service and everyone uses it. Maybe that was the play of both Uber and Lyft all along -- stay alive long enough to force the other out and get to monopoly well before autonomous vehicles enter. And they failed. Both are still alive. There is no one firm with a monopoly.
- ghaff 8y ago>If Uber and Lyft prices go up 1.5x to 2x, that suddenly means that in cities, taxis undercut them. I'm sure it varies. I don't use them much when I travel but my perception is that they're maybe 70% or so of the price of a taxi. So not a huge difference but enough that I usually default to Lyft if there's no reason not to. I agree about the competition. Though that's US-specific. Uber may operate under more regulation generally in Europe but I don't have a lot of personal experience.
- njarboe 8y ago"Uber and Lyft are only slightly cheaper than taxis" A taxi from my home to/from the airport is $50-$55 with tip. Uber is $20-$25 non surge (which is most of the time). Before Uber, on an outbound I would always have a friend take me or drop me at BART. On the return, since the taxi is right there, I would take it about half the time. Now I take Uber/Lyft almost all the time. I'm not sure what I'll do when/if Uber goes up to $50.
- chrisseaton 8y ago> If Uber and Lyft prices go up 1.5x to 2x, that suddenly means that in cities, taxis undercut them. Taxis can't undercut them. Even if Uber were 2x as expensive, that would be ok because Taxis are 4x worse.
- ghaff 8y ago> Taxis are 4x worse It really depends. One city I travel to fairly regularly, I tend to take Lyft because it's cheaper but I'm really indifferent to taking a cab vs. taking a Lyft for any other reason. In fact, I sometimes take a cab from the airport if there's no line and cabs just sitting there because it saves a few minutes. Yes, taxis are generally bad in quite a few cities but it's not universal.