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How long before they get acquired by Amazon? Also what are the chances of that deal getting blocked? Getting all of these uber drivers to deliver packages, gro

by m_ke 7y ago

How long before they get acquired by Amazon? Also what are the chances of that deal getting blocked? Getting all of these uber drivers to deliver packages, groceries and food for amazon customers makes too much sense. EDIT: Looks like Amazon is already making moves in that direction with their own employees https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19901196 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19901196

lalos 7y ago
The drivers are not loyal, they are already on Lyft and whatever app offers them a better deal that day/week/month (depending on incentives they sign on to).
- m_ke 7y ago
  Yes, they're loyal to whoever pays more and has more work. Slapping Amazon deliveries on top of Uber pool would mean more work and better unit economics, which should ideally translate into more money for the drivers.
  - darkwizard42 7y ago
    Surprisingly the background of drivers who do deliveries and food is very different from what is legally required to transport humans. What has been found is that there actually isn't much overlap in competing "supply" as those who are clean on background and DMV checks will always pick transporting people first because its more profitable.
    - dractori 7y ago
      Source?
  - rchaud 7y ago
    The Uber drivers I've talked to set specific hours for when they're cruising around the city waiting for rides. The Amazon delivery approach would require them to drive from the city, to a remote fulfilment center to pick up goods, and then drive back to the city to deliver them. Is there a different way this can be done?
    - m_ke 7y ago
      Amazon has started to build fulfillment centers in cities to make this work. It's also why they bought whole foods and are now buying up old shopping malls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k53IDbtP-58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k53IDbtP-58). They could probably even use amazon lockers to optimize the process.
- CameronBanga 7y ago
  This seems to insinuate that there's some reason to be loyal to Uber.
  - grandmczeb 7y ago
    How so?
jonknee 7y ago
FedEx is still cheaper in terms of market cap than Uber, if Amazon was going to make any major acquisition to deliver parcels it surely would not be Uber.
- m_ke 7y ago
  I doubt Amazon would want to deal with all of those employees. I'm not even sure that they'd want to handle deliveries for other businesses. With Uber they have a 24/7 flexible contractor workforce and physical interaction with millions of potential customers. Amazon could help them save a ton of money by moving their infrastructure onto AWS and reduce their marketing spend by promoting it on their properties. Tying an uber subscription to Amazon prime could also help both businesses. I'm sure both Lyft and Uber are already working on some monthly membership model.
  - jonknee 7y ago
    > I doubt Amazon would want to deal with all of those employees. Amazon is the second largest private employer in the US, they seem to be fine with paychecks. I was just pointing out that buying Uber so you can deliver stuff is a phenomenally dumb idea, it would be cheaper to buy a company like FedEx that is valued by real assets and has proven capable at delivering stuff. > With Uber they have a 24/7 flexible contractor workforce and physical interaction with millions of potential customers. Amazon already does this and since Uber relies on contractors, they could sign up every driver in the country without paying a penny for Uber. > Amazon could help them save a ton of money by moving their infrastructure onto AWS and reduce their marketing spend by promoting it on their properties. Uber also already uses AWS. Getting paid for it seems better than spending billions to not get paid? tl;dr I don't think Amazon buys either company, but there is no way in hell they buy Uber.
    - rchaud 7y ago
      > Amazon is the second largest private employer in the US, they seem to be fine with paychecks. I think the bigger issue is unionization. In Canada, many Fedex workers belong to a union. Pretty sure that is non-existed at Uber.
joezydeco 7y ago
What magic beans does Uber and/or Lyft possess where Amazon would need to buy the company instead of just rolling their own system? They could probably crank up an Uber-style service quicker than anyone else, do it 100% internally, and be instantly integrated into Alexa and whatever else they have going on. Then the service speeds on Uber's AWS instances start to slowly drop...
- deminature 7y ago
  Uber has their own infrastructure and don't use AWS. Amazon has already tried an Eats replica in 'Restaurants' and delivery with Flex and both have been scaled down after not succeeding.
- m_ke 7y ago
  Why did they buy Whole Foods? They could have easily opened up a few hundred grocery stores too. Uber has around 4 million registered drivers and millions of daily users and a huge team of engineers working on these problems. With Lyft and Uber in this space it makes no sense for amazon to try and compete with them. Uber is trying to turn itself into a logistics business and Amazon is investing a ton into making 1 hour delivery work because perishable goods are a huge slice of commerce and a big growth opportunity for them.
  - joezydeco 7y ago
    The question was "when will Amazon buy Uber?" and my question in response is "does Amazon need to do that or can they do it themselves?" Making a copy of Uber doesn't require Amazon to buy 4 million cars. They just need to launch a website and an app. Like another poster said above, Uber drivers aren't loyal to Uber and will swap to Lyft wherever and whenever. A third company doesn't cause any friction at all.
    - m_ke 7y ago
      It wouldn't make sense for them to compete with Uber and Lyft while they're busy losing money on each ride. They could launch a delivery only platform and attempt to leverage existing ride sharing drivers but then they'd have to compete with Ubers of the world on price per mile.

by m_ke 7y ago

lalos 7y ago

The drivers are not loyal, they are already on Lyft and whatever app offers them a better deal that day/week/month (depending on incentives they sign on to).

m_ke 7y ago
Yes, they're loyal to whoever pays more and has more work. Slapping Amazon deliveries on top of Uber pool would mean more work and better unit economics, which should ideally translate into more money for the drivers.
- darkwizard42 7y ago
  Surprisingly the background of drivers who do deliveries and food is very different from what is legally required to transport humans. What has been found is that there actually isn't much overlap in competing "supply" as those who are clean on background and DMV checks will always pick transporting people first because its more profitable.
  - dractori 7y ago
    Source?
- rchaud 7y ago
  The Uber drivers I've talked to set specific hours for when they're cruising around the city waiting for rides. The Amazon delivery approach would require them to drive from the city, to a remote fulfilment center to pick up goods, and then drive back to the city to deliver them. Is there a different way this can be done?
  - m_ke 7y ago
    Amazon has started to build fulfillment centers in cities to make this work. It's also why they bought whole foods and are now buying up old shopping malls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k53IDbtP-58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k53IDbtP-58). They could probably even use amazon lockers to optimize the process.
CameronBanga 7y ago
This seems to insinuate that there's some reason to be loyal to Uber.
- grandmczeb 7y ago
  How so?

jonknee 7y ago

FedEx is still cheaper in terms of market cap than Uber, if Amazon was going to make any major acquisition to deliver parcels it surely would not be Uber.

m_ke 7y ago
I doubt Amazon would want to deal with all of those employees. I'm not even sure that they'd want to handle deliveries for other businesses. With Uber they have a 24/7 flexible contractor workforce and physical interaction with millions of potential customers. Amazon could help them save a ton of money by moving their infrastructure onto AWS and reduce their marketing spend by promoting it on their properties. Tying an uber subscription to Amazon prime could also help both businesses. I'm sure both Lyft and Uber are already working on some monthly membership model.
- jonknee 7y ago
  > I doubt Amazon would want to deal with all of those employees. Amazon is the second largest private employer in the US, they seem to be fine with paychecks. I was just pointing out that buying Uber so you can deliver stuff is a phenomenally dumb idea, it would be cheaper to buy a company like FedEx that is valued by real assets and has proven capable at delivering stuff. > With Uber they have a 24/7 flexible contractor workforce and physical interaction with millions of potential customers. Amazon already does this and since Uber relies on contractors, they could sign up every driver in the country without paying a penny for Uber. > Amazon could help them save a ton of money by moving their infrastructure onto AWS and reduce their marketing spend by promoting it on their properties. Uber also already uses AWS. Getting paid for it seems better than spending billions to not get paid? tl;dr I don't think Amazon buys either company, but there is no way in hell they buy Uber.
  - rchaud 7y ago
    > Amazon is the second largest private employer in the US, they seem to be fine with paychecks. I think the bigger issue is unionization. In Canada, many Fedex workers belong to a union. Pretty sure that is non-existed at Uber.

joezydeco 7y ago

What magic beans does Uber and/or Lyft possess where Amazon would need to buy the company instead of just rolling their own system? They could probably crank up an Uber-style service quicker than anyone else, do it 100% internally, and be instantly integrated into Alexa and whatever else they have going on. Then the service speeds on Uber's AWS instances start to slowly drop...

deminature 7y ago
Uber has their own infrastructure and don't use AWS. Amazon has already tried an Eats replica in 'Restaurants' and delivery with Flex and both have been scaled down after not succeeding.
m_ke 7y ago
Why did they buy Whole Foods? They could have easily opened up a few hundred grocery stores too. Uber has around 4 million registered drivers and millions of daily users and a huge team of engineers working on these problems. With Lyft and Uber in this space it makes no sense for amazon to try and compete with them. Uber is trying to turn itself into a logistics business and Amazon is investing a ton into making 1 hour delivery work because perishable goods are a huge slice of commerce and a big growth opportunity for them.
- joezydeco 7y ago
  The question was "when will Amazon buy Uber?" and my question in response is "does Amazon need to do that or can they do it themselves?" Making a copy of Uber doesn't require Amazon to buy 4 million cars. They just need to launch a website and an app. Like another poster said above, Uber drivers aren't loyal to Uber and will swap to Lyft wherever and whenever. A third company doesn't cause any friction at all.
  - m_ke 7y ago
    It wouldn't make sense for them to compete with Uber and Lyft while they're busy losing money on each ride. They could launch a delivery only platform and attempt to leverage existing ride sharing drivers but then they'd have to compete with Ubers of the world on price per mile.