Not a large majority. 24%. Still a surprising amount, not least because London and New York at least have robust alternatives.
The airport thing I found pretty surprising too, as it seems to be counter to the actual competitive advantage of Uber, which is getting a cab at short notice even at peak times. Airport journeys are largely predictable and can be booked in advance. Failing that, at least for the trip from the airport, there are taxi ranks and usually public transport. Obviously some airports have weird taxi monopolies, but I don’t think that’s true of any of their major markets.
True, but only (after the first few years) because it was investing so heavily in infrastructure and products. It could have opened the profit taps at pretty much any time after 2000 just by cutting back on R&D. Whereas Uber has to hike prices, which will directly affect its competitive position. It’s often said that Uber is a means for venture capital to subsidise taxi rides. Though now it’s public investors too.
Living in Boston I travel in and out of Logan a lot. They’ve made it as difficult as possible to use a ride share instead of a cab. The taxi line is orderly and fast, the cabs have a dedicated lane to get in and out of the terminals and you get a taxi quickly. The rideshare lots are in a separate area, they’re gigantic mobs of people and cars swarming around with very little direction, and the ride share providers have to sit in traffic to get to them.
If you use Lyft to get out of Logan you’re waiting like 45 minutes. A taxi takes maybe 10 tops. But, a taxi is $35 just to get out of the tunnel and then whatever it costs to get you home from there. Lyfts are like $15 to get me home. Plus the taxis always smell bad.
Other airports aren’t this bad. I went to Chicago recently and the ride shares and taxis were using the same lanes and it was very easy. Orlando was the same.
After the Uber and Lyft shenanegans in Austin, and with the legislation for them at the state level that forced them back into the city on their terms against our will, I refuse to use either of them. I sincerely hope they choke on their 3 billion in losses, and that a better company steps into their void.
The drivers have to be making money or else they’d quit. The money drain must be the operations structure.
What I really like about it is when I’m travelling Uber/Lyft makes it super easy to get a ride from a hotel to wherever I need to go and the cost is very reasonable. It makes it an easy decision to travel a bit to get to an interesting restaurant rather than eating at the hotel or someplace across the street.
And I have serious concerns/ doubts about the losses.
Remember, Uber has a shell company in the Netherlands that they ‘license’ everything through. So I have little doubt that the losses are paper only, and calculated to reduce tax revenue and push back against the narrative of the underpaid driver.
‘Oh woe is us, we clearly aren’t taking advantage of the drivers. We lost 3 billion last year!’
Without evidence these are true losses, and not just accounting losses, I am not buying it.
I don’t think there’s any incentive for a company about to go public to lie about its losses. A profitable Uber would be worth twice as much as it currently is.
Unless the Dutch company were not consolidated (it is), it would still show up in group profits (it just wouldn’t create taxable profits in the US). Moreover, there’ s only $0.8bn in cash in subsidiaries outside the US, so nowhere near enough retained overseas profit (if there is any) to counteract the domestic losses.
Uber isn’t profitable at a group level. There’s a reason the (off-surge) rides are so cheap compared to traditional taxis and mini-cabs.
I’m pretty sure Uber intends to capture market share ahead of self-driving cars sending the profit margins way higher. They are losing money as the price to do so.
It remains to be seen if self-driving cars show up before Uber goes bust (you can guess my view from the thread where we discussed self-driving cars etc!).
I hope the drivers are making a hell of a lot more than $15 for that trip (in other words, that your trip is subsidized by shareholders) or they are being seriously exploited.
On some level, I gotta figure the folks driving for Uber and Lyft aren’t feeling that exploited, or they’d choose not to do it. Most of the folks I’ve talked to who are drivers seem to like the freedom they have to just do whatever they want.
