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Of course it's a net positive to consumers. It's a business being run at a loss, and propped up with constant capital inflow - i.e. a massive transfer of wealth

Of course it's a net positive to consumers. It's a business being run at a loss, and propped up with constant capital inflow - i.e. a massive transfer of wealth from investors to consumers.

rubber_duck 7y ago
My point is that it's not just about operating on a loss - other companies locally are competing with Uber and amongst each other and the market that was once protected by shady licensing monopoly is now open wide - even a price increase of 20-30% will not change the way I use taxis right now - and that would be very sustainable (I don't see local uber as a loss generator with their pricing as the other taxi companies are able to compete - the marketing money Uber is sinking is probably what's generating the losses)
- Traster 7y ago
  A price increase of 20-30% may not effect how you use taxis, but it will effect how lots of other people use taxis, and because loads less people will use taxis at 20% more they won't need to charge 20% more, they'll need to charge 20% + their decrease in utilization. Suddenly you're in a death spiral where they can't charge enough to make a living at any price.
  - rubber_duck 7y ago
    I doubt this. Initially when Uber arrived there was no regulation around here - the prices were ~30% lower and people driving Uber were actual part time drivers with clunky old cars - this was the ideal Uber time for me because in my smaller hometown I could get a ride almost instantly in any part of the city and I didn't care about ride quality if I didn't get dirty or smelt bad after I left the car. After taxi protests the government stepped in to basically enforce rules where part time driving became really hard - you have to have a car newer than 5 years, need to have some sort of work contract - not necessarily with Uber but a lot of forms of started small companies that then partner with Uber - but you no longer had limited taxi licenses - anyone can get a car and setup Uber. This resulted in prices eventually rising by 30-50% depending on the city, more importantly it resulted in lower availability in smaller places because it blocked small part time drivers. At this point local taxi companies are still complaining but there are now taxi services cheaper than uber depending on mileage. So in a way this Uber market transformation already happened. Like even at current prices an average taxi ride is 2-3x cheaper than it would be 10 years ago when it was basically a government granted cartel. And you were at the mercy of the driver randomly quoting you whatever he though you would pay in a lot of situations. Uber brought a lot of consistency and availability to the market.
pc86 7y ago
I'm an consumer, not an investor, so I'm more-or-less fine with this. How many examples do we have of staggeringly astronomical transfers of wealth to investors from consumers? I'm not going to cry over billionaires and millionaires becoming slightly less so.
- ashtonkem 7y ago
  I mean, if you thought the transfers were going to last forever, I have a bridge to sell you. Their plan the entire time was either to bankrupt everyone else and charge monopoly prices, which would be worse for the consumer, or to develop A.I. cars and fire the humans, which has other consequences.
  - brianwawok 7y ago
    I don’t think you can charge Monopoly prices when the barrier to entry is so low. Without robot cars anyone can compete locally with Uber. With robot cars they win, but again not sure they can raise prices much.
    - ashtonkem 7y ago
      The barrier of entry appears to be billions of dollars worth of VC cash, so I’m a bit less optimistic. But regardless of whether they can pull it off, I’ve always viewed Uber as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Sure, they’re pro-consumer now, but they absolutely intend to go anti-consumer the moment they’re given a chance.
      - feanaro 7y ago
        > The barrier of entry appears to be billions of dollars worth of VC cash, so I’m a bit less optimistic. The barrier of entry to what? Sure, the barrier of entry to autonomous cars without drivers is extremely high, but even if Uber is the only one in the market that possessed the technology, they wouldn't be able to drive market prices for taxis higher than the cost of a drive in a manned car. I don't know about you, but I have no real preference for driving in an unmanned car if the manned option is significantly cheaper.
manigandham 7y ago
Uber reported profitability in their last earnings statement with high confidence of being fully profitable this year, before the pandemic happened. Various regions have been profitable for years and the company has spent a lot on growth and marketing. It seems they're finding an optimal price that is sustainable but still much better than anything that we had before.

Of course it's a net positive to consumers. It's a business being run at a loss, and propped up with constant capital inflow - i.e. a massive transfer of wealth from investors to consumers.

rubber_duck 7y ago

My point is that it's not just about operating on a loss - other companies locally are competing with Uber and amongst each other and the market that was once protected by shady licensing monopoly is now open wide - even a price increase of 20-30% will not change the way I use taxis right now - and that would be very sustainable (I don't see local uber as a loss generator with their pricing as the other taxi companies are able to compete - the marketing money Uber is sinking is probably what's generating the losses)

Traster 7y ago
A price increase of 20-30% may not effect how you use taxis, but it will effect how lots of other people use taxis, and because loads less people will use taxis at 20% more they won't need to charge 20% more, they'll need to charge 20% + their decrease in utilization. Suddenly you're in a death spiral where they can't charge enough to make a living at any price.
- rubber_duck 7y ago
  I doubt this. Initially when Uber arrived there was no regulation around here - the prices were ~30% lower and people driving Uber were actual part time drivers with clunky old cars - this was the ideal Uber time for me because in my smaller hometown I could get a ride almost instantly in any part of the city and I didn't care about ride quality if I didn't get dirty or smelt bad after I left the car. After taxi protests the government stepped in to basically enforce rules where part time driving became really hard - you have to have a car newer than 5 years, need to have some sort of work contract - not necessarily with Uber but a lot of forms of started small companies that then partner with Uber - but you no longer had limited taxi licenses - anyone can get a car and setup Uber. This resulted in prices eventually rising by 30-50% depending on the city, more importantly it resulted in lower availability in smaller places because it blocked small part time drivers. At this point local taxi companies are still complaining but there are now taxi services cheaper than uber depending on mileage. So in a way this Uber market transformation already happened. Like even at current prices an average taxi ride is 2-3x cheaper than it would be 10 years ago when it was basically a government granted cartel. And you were at the mercy of the driver randomly quoting you whatever he though you would pay in a lot of situations. Uber brought a lot of consistency and availability to the market.

pc86 7y ago

I'm an consumer, not an investor, so I'm more-or-less fine with this. How many examples do we have of staggeringly astronomical transfers of wealth to investors from consumers? I'm not going to cry over billionaires and millionaires becoming slightly less so.

ashtonkem 7y ago
I mean, if you thought the transfers were going to last forever, I have a bridge to sell you. Their plan the entire time was either to bankrupt everyone else and charge monopoly prices, which would be worse for the consumer, or to develop A.I. cars and fire the humans, which has other consequences.
- brianwawok 7y ago
  I don’t think you can charge Monopoly prices when the barrier to entry is so low. Without robot cars anyone can compete locally with Uber. With robot cars they win, but again not sure they can raise prices much.
  - ashtonkem 7y ago
    The barrier of entry appears to be billions of dollars worth of VC cash, so I’m a bit less optimistic. But regardless of whether they can pull it off, I’ve always viewed Uber as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Sure, they’re pro-consumer now, but they absolutely intend to go anti-consumer the moment they’re given a chance.
    - feanaro 7y ago
      > The barrier of entry appears to be billions of dollars worth of VC cash, so I’m a bit less optimistic. The barrier of entry to what? Sure, the barrier of entry to autonomous cars without drivers is extremely high, but even if Uber is the only one in the market that possessed the technology, they wouldn't be able to drive market prices for taxis higher than the cost of a drive in a manned car. I don't know about you, but I have no real preference for driving in an unmanned car if the manned option is significantly cheaper.

manigandham 7y ago

Uber reported profitability in their last earnings statement with high confidence of being fully profitable this year, before the pandemic happened. Various regions have been profitable for years and the company has spent a lot on growth and marketing. It seems they're finding an optimal price that is sustainable but still much better than anything that we had before.