7 ms·

So how is this going to play out? Negative pricing like in oil?

• kgermino 6y ago
  No? The oil situation is happening because producers are contractually obligated to pump (significantly) more oil than there is market demand for and it is hard to store or ramp down production of oil. Uber rides have none of those qualities. If people stop riding Uber the producers (drivers) will just stop driving. The price may drop, but there's no prepayment and no driver will accept a negative fare.
  • battery_cowboy 6y ago
    Not just the contractual obligations, but it takes a long time to restart an oil supply chain so you just can't turn it off easily.
• anticensor 6y ago
  Negative pricing will not work in passenger transportation. Even zero pricing would result in overcrowding.
  • throwaway_USD 6y ago
    Funny, that was their strategy pre-IPO
  • jandrese 6y ago
    Are you saying that pricing drives demand? It seems to me that demand is driven by people who have places to go. Pricing can reduce demand, but it can't increase it beyond the base amount. Not unless people start just telling their uber driver to go around the city because they just like being inside of a car.
    • anticensor 6y ago
      It can, even to the point of inability to serve passengers demanding for an actual need. There are situations people taking public transport just because it is free and they have time. I mean, if there were a free taxi, I can hail it and pick my friends and acquittances randomly into it and drop them at random places.
• vikramkr 6y ago
  What would be the point of negative pricing?