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An interesting perspective, but I think the key difference is that Uber has built no lasting infrastructure. I do agree that Uber has improved the taxi/private

by axg11 5y ago

An interesting perspective, but I think the key difference is that Uber has built no lasting infrastructure. I do agree that Uber has improved the taxi/private vehicle transport industry in essentially every market it entered. In London (UK) for example, taxis were previously mainly used by tourists, the rich, or the very drunk. Uber changed this completely, making it accessible for many more people. If Uber disappears I’m not sure what a follow-up company can build on top of? The only lasting impact I can see is that Uber popularised “gig work” so that future companies and even Lyft, DoorDash, etc. had an easier time to roll out the same model.

micromacrofoot 5y ago
uber let the cat out of the bag… this model might not exist forever, but maybe it’ll last long enough for someone else to capitalize on its ghost
- chrischen 5y ago
  Uber’s model is basically the same as the cab/taxi model, but likely much more efficient due to software. That business model (hiring private drivers for point to point public transit) has been profitably working for over a century now. Also keep in mind Taxis, unlike buses and trains, are usually not even subsidized, which lends even more credence to the business model.
  - micromacrofoot 5y ago
    "basically the same" yet uber did have a transformative effect, in some countries taxi systems were very hostile and disorganized, and uber has raised the standard significantly... they've created a certain expectation
    - chrischen 5y ago
      My point is that if Taxi’s were profitable essentially being a worse Uber, then it makes the argument that Uber is in a bubble industry seem ludicrous, which it is.
      - micromacrofoot 5y ago
        ah ok, thanks for clarifying... I guess the bubble might be the pricing model? it has been artificially too cheap to support the labor for a while. Early on I was commuting to work for only a couple dollars more than public transportation.
cameronh90 5y ago
I suppose it's hard to see what the future will hold, but at least in London there's Gett and Freenow, and a lot of the traditional players like Addy Lee now have apps of varying quality. As you point out, stuff like Deliveroo might not have existed without Uber. Not quite the same as metal rails running up the country I agree, but I think in hindsight Uber will be remembered as a significant innovation. Think Napster.
- chrischen 5y ago
  Well if I’m thinking Napster then first to mind is Spotify and Apple music, both of which are profitable and here to stay. But even if Uber gets mismanaged and driven into the ground Lyft or one of the other competitors would take over with more or less the same product.
geysersam 5y ago
The infrastructure they built is: 1. the concept of ride sharing as it works today. If they disappear tomorrow a follow up company can build a more or less identical service based on that invention. 2. A large digital infrastructure. All those servers and the knowledge required to run it is about as unlikely to just "disappear" as the railway tracks in England.
nullc 5y ago
> Uber has built no lasting infrastructure They wrote themselves into the California constitution, now that's infrastructure for any business to envy!

by axg11 5y ago

micromacrofoot 5y ago

uber let the cat out of the bag… this model might not exist forever, but maybe it’ll last long enough for someone else to capitalize on its ghost

chrischen 5y ago
Uber’s model is basically the same as the cab/taxi model, but likely much more efficient due to software. That business model (hiring private drivers for point to point public transit) has been profitably working for over a century now. Also keep in mind Taxis, unlike buses and trains, are usually not even subsidized, which lends even more credence to the business model.
- micromacrofoot 5y ago
  "basically the same" yet uber did have a transformative effect, in some countries taxi systems were very hostile and disorganized, and uber has raised the standard significantly... they've created a certain expectation
  - chrischen 5y ago
    My point is that if Taxi’s were profitable essentially being a worse Uber, then it makes the argument that Uber is in a bubble industry seem ludicrous, which it is.
    - micromacrofoot 5y ago
      ah ok, thanks for clarifying... I guess the bubble might be the pricing model? it has been artificially too cheap to support the labor for a while. Early on I was commuting to work for only a couple dollars more than public transportation.

cameronh90 5y ago

I suppose it's hard to see what the future will hold, but at least in London there's Gett and Freenow, and a lot of the traditional players like Addy Lee now have apps of varying quality. As you point out, stuff like Deliveroo might not have existed without Uber. Not quite the same as metal rails running up the country I agree, but I think in hindsight Uber will be remembered as a significant innovation. Think Napster.

chrischen 5y ago
Well if I’m thinking Napster then first to mind is Spotify and Apple music, both of which are profitable and here to stay. But even if Uber gets mismanaged and driven into the ground Lyft or one of the other competitors would take over with more or less the same product.

geysersam 5y ago

The infrastructure they built is: 1. the concept of ride sharing as it works today. If they disappear tomorrow a follow up company can build a more or less identical service based on that invention. 2. A large digital infrastructure. All those servers and the knowledge required to run it is about as unlikely to just "disappear" as the railway tracks in England.

nullc 5y ago

> Uber has built no lasting infrastructure They wrote themselves into the California constitution, now that's infrastructure for any business to envy!