The gig economy is a good sell, on paper… they make it sound like it’s all freedom, choose your hours, work for yourself… We’ll see if that pitch continues to sell.
There was some exaggeration there too, I think… a $15 Lyft trip from Logan gets you to, like, MIT or maybe Back Bay. My trip home from Logan (~11 miles) is typically $30-35 for Lyft and $35-40 for a cab (each before tip), and it’s absolutely 10-15 minutes minimum quicker to get a taxi with how they have it set up now, so I do tend to do that. The taxis have also been noticeably nicer in the last year or two compared to the pre-ridesharing days.
Boston minutiae aside, I am super curious to see what happens when the cash train runs out and fares go up by necessity, likely to something very close to (if not slightly higher than) what taxis charge. Will people, especially the younger generation, just suck it up and keep using them? Or will there be renewed interest in (and actual political momentum behind) transit and other solutions?
I’m relatively certain that, considering all the costs of driving (maintenance, fuel, insurance, etc), that Uber and Lyft drivers are actually paid negative money. Or, in any case, far less than minimum wage.
Well especially considering who knows how many of them are expecting to use personal car insurance for a commercial enterprise and then find out… they won’t cover it.
“So, uh, people found out we’re really shitty.”
Next time, you could try this instead:
Competition is good for consumers, right?
Oh, and give me a call when you’re here and we’ll solve world problems over drinks :)
Sometimes they even whistle or sing while they work. They must like it.
(Uber is a labor exploitation scheme, and the techbros behind it would be first in line for my guillotine regime.)
I, uh… Ouch!
Edit: here’s the key bit:
Consider also that Uber’s debut valuation of $76.5 billion was a considerable drop from the between $90 billion and $120 billion the company had been worth in some analysts estimation just a month
That indicates that the more strategic move may have been to keep hoovering up private investment based on the ~50% higher valuation than the close today.
Lyft and Uber aren’t worth 1% of those values. What a joke.
They’re on the open market. They’re worth exactly what they’re worth. If you mean that at some future time period, e.g., 5 or 10 years from now, they won’t have even 1% of their current value, maybe. But it’s weird to say that they aren’t currently worth exactly what they are worth.
Now, if you’re confident of your position, then you should short their stock like crazy and make a killing.
According to one analyst, the company may be profitable by 2024, though its only real plan so far is to continue to screw workers and eventually replace them with unproven technology.
Presently, investors are probably realizing that what they’re paying for is an unsustainable company so huge that its main justification for existing is sunk cost.
This is one un-biased journalist.
I remember when Amazon was losing money year after year and owed so much people said it would never turn a profit.
Thing about Uber is everyone uses it. People seem to like it better than taxi service. It’s not just the price. It’s how fast it can often be and how easy it is to use. We are in another city and we want to Uber so we get on our phones and most of the time in 10 minutes or less we’re climbing into the car and we already know what the price is going to be. Their profit model may not be great now but their business model from a customer satisfaction angle is pretty darn good.
People like servants and slaves.
Sure… but it’s not sustainable so the question becomes: “How are they going to change it so that it makes money?”
Their only answer seems to be: “Get rid of all the pesky human beings and let robots do it all.”
Which is… optimistic to say the least.
Taking cabs anywhere in the US besides Las Vegas is the worst experience you can have. Shitty, smelly cars. Shitty, smelly drivers. Maybe they take credit cards, maybe they don’t. Maybe they say they take credit cards, but their machine is broken so oh well. Maybe they take an hour to come pick you up, or never show up at all.
Then there’s the begging for tips at the end of the ride, and the incentive to drive you all over hell and back to get to your destination if you don’t know exactly where you’re going.
How it took so long for someone to offer a better experience is beyond me.
Systemic corruption mostly.
And some organized crime probably.
Technically, I guess Taxis win over Uber on this issue.
Of the vehicles we tested, rideshares yielded the highest bacteria levels by far – more than 6 million CFU/sq. in. on average. The rental cars averaged more than 2 million CFU/sq. in., while the taxis had an average of just over 27,000 CFU/sq. in. To put it in perspective, rideshares averaged almost three times more germs than a toothbrush holder. Toilet seats and coffee reservoirs both contained fewer microorganism than rideshares and rental cars.
Taxi cabs probably get professionally cleaned fairly often (drivers maybe less so).
You’re lucky if most people don’t shit on the seats of their own car, much less clean it.
That’s the assumption of the report. Taxis get cleaned on a regular schedule. Rideshare cars don’t.
Taxis were in most cities a government sanctioned monopoly. Uber broke the monopoly by acting first and getting so popular that politicians couldn’t stop it. Scooters are doing the same thing.
I do think uber/lyfft are so cheap it’s not sustainable for now. But it’s wonderful for traveling and getting home from bars.