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> The fundamental problem Uber and Lyft keep running into is that most people are not willing to pay the fares it would cost to run a profitable taxi service wi

> The fundamental problem Uber and Lyft keep running into is that most people are not willing to pay the fares it would cost to run a profitable taxi service with the overhead Uber and Lyft require [surprisedpikachu.gif]

toomuchtodo 4y ago
You mean this was all a scam to enrich early shareholders and incinerate $30B+ in capital!? pearl clutching intensifies
- walrus01 4y ago
  Writing as somebody who was working in network engineering and IT/tech stuff during the dotcom 1.0 VC funded boom and crash from 1997-2002 none of this is particularly surprising. it sure has been amusing to watch, however. maybe we can pay for future uber and lyft rides in beenz and flooz
- dotcoma 4y ago
  Yes, exactly.
- ghaff 4y ago
  The incineration was just a byproduct. I do wonder in so many of these cases, how much is: - Completely cynical fleece the suckers - Irrational optimism that things will be different because self-driving or whatever - Fake it till you make it (which is related but slightly different)
- IgorPartola 4y ago
  More or less, though it did move the needle forward. Now most taxi services are easier to use thanks to Uber. But they were always in the business of selling dollar bills for $0.90. Soon as they want to make a profit it turns out to be more expensive than running a local taxi service and they aren’t price competitive. In the meantime taxi services got their own apps/app integrations while maintaining their competitive advantage.
  - pjmlp 4y ago
    Depends on where one leaves. I am yet to board a Uber and have used taxis quite a lot in the last 30 years.
- carapace 4y ago
  You left out the part where they're siphoning capital from their drivers: > Here is the thing about Uber and Lyft (and much of the “sharing economy”). > They don’t pay the cost of their capital. > The wages they pay to their drivers are less than the depreciation of the cars and the expense of keeping the drivers fed, housed, and healthy. They pay less than minimum wage in most markets, and, in most markets, that is not enough to pay the costs of a car plus a human. > These business models are ways of draining capital from the economy and putting them into the hands of a few investors and executives. They prey on desperate people who need money now, even if the money is insufficient to pay their total costs. Drivers are draining their own reserves to get cash now, but, hey, they gotta eat and pay the bills. https://www.ianwelsh.net/the-market-fairy-will-not-solve-the-problems-of-uber-and-lyft/ https://www.ianwelsh.net/the-market-fairy-will-not-solve-the...
  - walrus01 4y ago
    yeah sadly it seems to be a scam on the people who don't do the fully-loaded cost per mile of operating a modern sedan in city traffic, including the purchase cost of the car, repairs and maintenance, fuel, tires, subtracting the eventual small resale value of a 250,000+ mile "used up" ex-Uber car.
- moralestapia 4y ago
  always_has_been.jpg
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

toomuchtodo 4y ago

You mean this was all a scam to enrich early shareholders and incinerate $30B+ in capital!? pearl clutching intensifies

walrus01 4y ago
Writing as somebody who was working in network engineering and IT/tech stuff during the dotcom 1.0 VC funded boom and crash from 1997-2002 none of this is particularly surprising. it sure has been amusing to watch, however. maybe we can pay for future uber and lyft rides in beenz and flooz
dotcoma 4y ago
Yes, exactly.
ghaff 4y ago
The incineration was just a byproduct. I do wonder in so many of these cases, how much is: - Completely cynical fleece the suckers - Irrational optimism that things will be different because self-driving or whatever - Fake it till you make it (which is related but slightly different)
IgorPartola 4y ago
More or less, though it did move the needle forward. Now most taxi services are easier to use thanks to Uber. But they were always in the business of selling dollar bills for $0.90. Soon as they want to make a profit it turns out to be more expensive than running a local taxi service and they aren’t price competitive. In the meantime taxi services got their own apps/app integrations while maintaining their competitive advantage.
- pjmlp 4y ago
  Depends on where one leaves. I am yet to board a Uber and have used taxis quite a lot in the last 30 years.
carapace 4y ago
You left out the part where they're siphoning capital from their drivers: > Here is the thing about Uber and Lyft (and much of the “sharing economy”). > They don’t pay the cost of their capital. > The wages they pay to their drivers are less than the depreciation of the cars and the expense of keeping the drivers fed, housed, and healthy. They pay less than minimum wage in most markets, and, in most markets, that is not enough to pay the costs of a car plus a human. > These business models are ways of draining capital from the economy and putting them into the hands of a few investors and executives. They prey on desperate people who need money now, even if the money is insufficient to pay their total costs. Drivers are draining their own reserves to get cash now, but, hey, they gotta eat and pay the bills. https://www.ianwelsh.net/the-market-fairy-will-not-solve-the-problems-of-uber-and-lyft/ https://www.ianwelsh.net/the-market-fairy-will-not-solve-the...
- walrus01 4y ago
  yeah sadly it seems to be a scam on the people who don't do the fully-loaded cost per mile of operating a modern sedan in city traffic, including the purchase cost of the car, repairs and maintenance, fuel, tires, subtracting the eventual small resale value of a 250,000+ mile "used up" ex-Uber car.
moralestapia 4y ago
always_has_been.jpg

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]