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Sustainability is questionable for these firms. Ride hailing and similar services are more likely to evolve into local offerings. It is not a difficult business
by zakum1 8y ago
Sustainability is questionable for these firms. Ride hailing and similar services are more likely to evolve into local offerings. It is not a difficult business to replicate, technically, while regulation, infrastructure, social concerns can all be better addressed by local networks. A backlash is growing against exploitation of drivers and privacy weaknesses, which are natural results of the current global aspirations of these networks. I will stay out of these IPOs
- quickthrower2 8y agoIt's hard to replicate the chicken and egg market of drivers and passengers.
- lsc 8y agoI don't think it is? most drivers I've asked have used both uber and lyft and would switch for special incentives; I know a lot of passengers who only use lyft because of the bad reputation uber has, but of the uber riders, most of them also have lyft, and switch based on incentives. I mean, you need a critical mass in a short period of time within an area, but that's just a matter of throwing money at the problem, and there's no reason you couldn't be a perfectly reasonable regional player in this game. I mean, of course, at current prices, where margins are all but negative, that requires a lot of money; but in an environment where uber charged enough to have a healthy, profitable business? whenever the uber margins started to climb, you'd see regional competitors popping up. I mean, that's just my guess. We don't know, because we haven't seen a high margin ride sharing pricing scheme, not after uber made it clear that companies didn't need to follow taxi regulations.
- eeeeeeeeeeeee 8y agoYep, most drivers I’ve talked to also have pretty close communities of fellow Uber and Lyft drivers. They talk a lot and share tips and information. A better offer is all it would take people to jump ship.