5 ms·

Except corporations have already agreed to not seriously undercut each other... Geographic monopoly, understood collaborative price hikes... Forced plan changes

Except corporations have already agreed to not seriously undercut each other... Geographic monopoly, understood collaborative price hikes... Forced plan changes post-capture that eliminate the most common plan and squeeze out an extra $5 per customer.... Simply having another player in the field is not competition, despite the federal government's claims.

AnthonyMouse 7y ago
That effectively requires a cartel with high barriers to entry, otherwise not doing that is an immediate competitive advantage to any new challengers. It's pretty hard to build your own last mile telecommunications network, how hard is it to build a ride sharing app?
- zonidjan 7y ago
  It's not hard to build a ride sharing app. It is, however, hard to get drivers and customers FOR your ride sharing app.
  - AnthonyMouse 7y ago
    Not if you can undercut the existing ones on price.
    - eric-hu 7y ago
      A ride sharing app is a dual marketplace. If you're cutting the price for riders past a point, you're cutting the pay for drivers.
      - AnthonyMouse 7y ago
        That's assuming the incumbents are giving the premium for those customers to the drivers. But even if they were, the drivers are in a competitive labor market. If you get the customers with lower prices then you can also get the drivers because they'd rather be working for your rate than not at all.
        zonidjan 7y ago
        But you will never get customers without drivers and you will never get drivers without customers. Plenty of Uber/Lyft competitors have tried and failed. Heck, a few different companies tried here in Austin once we grew a spine and banned Uber/Lyft, only to die as soon as they came back to town.
- FabHK 7y ago
  Price is not the only factor for me as a consumer. The other is availability, or time to wait for pick-up. That is determined by how many drivers are around. Similarly, drivers like to have their next ride soon after their current one ends. Thus, you have economies of scale for multiple reasons (big upfront investments for app and marketing, network effects). As such, there are high barriers to entry.
- nswest23 7y ago
  > how hard is it to build a ride sharing app? then why are there only 2?
  - ric2b 7y ago
    There aren't, there are at least 7 (that I know of) in my city: Uber, Lyft, Cabify, FreeNow, Bolt, Taxify, MyTaxi.
    - brokenmachine 7y ago
      Personally I've never heard of any of those except Uber and Lyft.
- levythe 7y ago
  How is building a ride sharing network not an area with high barriers to entry?

AnthonyMouse 7y ago

That effectively requires a cartel with high barriers to entry, otherwise not doing that is an immediate competitive advantage to any new challengers. It's pretty hard to build your own last mile telecommunications network, how hard is it to build a ride sharing app?

zonidjan 7y ago
It's not hard to build a ride sharing app. It is, however, hard to get drivers and customers FOR your ride sharing app.
- AnthonyMouse 7y ago
  Not if you can undercut the existing ones on price.
  - eric-hu 7y ago
    A ride sharing app is a dual marketplace. If you're cutting the price for riders past a point, you're cutting the pay for drivers.
    - AnthonyMouse 7y ago
      That's assuming the incumbents are giving the premium for those customers to the drivers. But even if they were, the drivers are in a competitive labor market. If you get the customers with lower prices then you can also get the drivers because they'd rather be working for your rate than not at all.
      - zonidjan 7y ago
        But you will never get customers without drivers and you will never get drivers without customers. Plenty of Uber/Lyft competitors have tried and failed. Heck, a few different companies tried here in Austin once we grew a spine and banned Uber/Lyft, only to die as soon as they came back to town.
FabHK 7y ago
Price is not the only factor for me as a consumer. The other is availability, or time to wait for pick-up. That is determined by how many drivers are around. Similarly, drivers like to have their next ride soon after their current one ends. Thus, you have economies of scale for multiple reasons (big upfront investments for app and marketing, network effects). As such, there are high barriers to entry.
nswest23 7y ago
> how hard is it to build a ride sharing app? then why are there only 2?
- ric2b 7y ago
  There aren't, there are at least 7 (that I know of) in my city: Uber, Lyft, Cabify, FreeNow, Bolt, Taxify, MyTaxi.
  - brokenmachine 7y ago
    Personally I've never heard of any of those except Uber and Lyft.
levythe 7y ago
How is building a ride sharing network not an area with high barriers to entry?