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I live in downtown Atlanta and Uber is huge among the intown population. I know people who have sold their cars solely because Uber X was introduced. Perhaps in
by jmccree 12y ago
I live in downtown Atlanta and Uber is huge among the intown population. I know people who have sold their cars solely because Uber X was introduced. Perhaps intown Atlanta is in a similar position to SF of density and lack of transit. Cabs here are simply awful. They don't take cards, you're lucky if one will show up within an hour (And I live one block from the central subway station), and they a guaranteed to try and rip you off somehow. Uber arrives in minutes, is cheaper, and the drivers are friendly. I was shopping for a car until Uber X arrived, but now uber fills the gaps in our public transit system.
As more and more young people are moving into the cities again, especially cities in the sunbelt that lack the public transit and availability of cabs of NY/Chicago, there's huge opportunity for uber. When you consider all the people now moving back into downtowns and wanting to live the urban walkable lifestyle, but in cities with subpar transit, the opportunity is massive.
- rayiner 12y agoI lived in Atlanta for 7-8 years, and I'd definitely take Uber instead of calling Checker Cab. However, people giving up their personal cars in favor of Uber + transit is a marginal trend at best. The basic bottleneck is: how do you get to work? Like most sunbelt cities, the jobs in the Atlanta area are scattered across the city and suburbs. The average person in the metro area drives 17.5 miles and 30 minutes each way to work. That's a $30 Uber fare. There's no regional rail to get people to work, and MARTA barely goes anywhere. Very few people can get rid of their personal car because there are no other practical options for getting to work. And that bottleneck drives everything else. If you already have a car to get to work, why would you pay $20 bucks (roundtrip) to go from Buckhead to Atlantic Station for a night out? I think you're just plain overestimating the demographic trends actually in play. Yes, there is some growth in urban areas, but we're talking very marginal ones here: http://www.city-journal.org/2011/eon0406jkwc.html http://www.city-journal.org/2011/eon0406jkwc.html. There's no demographic trend of a major shift to the cities that will create a "massive" opportunity for a company like Uber.
- pbreit 12y agoA guy who has way more information about the matter thinks you're wrong. While he's biased, he's very credible and his writing matches up with with my sense.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]