Let's take it a step further. Uber could provide a futures market for car service. The same economic incentives which drive cattle producers to lock-in the pr

Let's take it a step further. Uber could provide a futures market for car service. The same economic incentives which drive cattle producers to lock-in the prices at which they will sell their cattle at the same time as they lock-in their feed prices exist for car service. Thinking about staying at the swanky hotel that's located a few miles from the party? Buy a forward contract on car service at the same time you book the room. The issue I see is that, without standardization of "product", it would be hard to create an active marketplace. To a driver, taking someone away from the city to the suburbs isn't as valuable as a route which leads to another customer's point of departure. This, of course, implies that the drivers would also be participating in the futures market. If they noticed, before considering taking NYE off to be with their families, that they could earn $200/hour, they might reconsider. Furthermore, would customers be willing to lock-in service at a particular time? What if the party is still going strong at your appointed time? You could sell your service slot to someone else, but would you be willing to put your contract up for sale while sipping a martini with your significant other? Is there a market design which provides sufficient certainty and price/demand visibility in a way where transactional costs don't destroy the value proposition? Perhaps the ubiquity of pocket "trading terminals" will usher in a new era of dynamic pricing which will require the design of new market models? Next up, concert tickets.