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0 pointsdsfyu404ed6y ago0 comments

That would basically be suicide bombing the "ride share" industry though. Everyone is losing money hand over fist. Increasing that amount will kill everyone just as dead but do it faster decreasing the amount of time that Uber, or anybody, would be able to figure out how to be profitable. I can see how faced with a binary choice between $21/hr and classifying as employees $21/hr is better but it's not a binary choice. They can pay off politicians (indirectly and with plausible deniability of course) or do other dirty things (this is Uber we're talking about here) to get the law changed.

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Fricken6y ago

Ride share, by the strict definition, is just the point of entry. Uber's goal is to become transportation infrastructure, in a 'privatize the gains, socialize the losses' kind of way, as with the rail barons and the car companies and the commercial airlines.

cactus20936y ago

Why do you think they’ll manage to socialize the losses?

So far the losses have been very privatized (VC and bank money) and if anything the gains have been socialized (the general public has benefited a lot in the form of taxi-like transportation, airport rides, etc. getting phenomenally better in most cities where Uber exists).

my_username_is_6y ago

There have also been public losses. Transit ridership tends to decrease with increased ridesharing. This means more cars on the roads, less money for public transit, and more pollution.

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ghaff6y ago

Who says they'll bear the cost? I'm not sure forcing all of these services to jack up their prices is bad for Uber if they can increase their overall margin while doing so. They just can't do it today if the competition won't follow suit.

Yes, they lose some volume but Uber/Lyft is probably a pretty strongly engrained habit for many at this point.

lonelappde6y ago

The price would get so high that demand would plummet -- more shared/saver rides or public transit or own drive or flexcar/cargo carshare outside of the densest Urban cores.

ghaff6y ago

I'm not sure about "plummet" at least until you get materially more expensive than taxis. But you're right that decreases in demand mean not only fewer fares but also a less viable service at the margins.

When I've looked, it's appeared as if Uber is only marginally viable around where my house is. Decrease the number of riders and I could imagine the number of drivers dropping further to the point where it's not really a usable service.

sachdevap6y ago

> but Uber/Lyft is probably a pretty strongly engrained habit for many at this point.

Might be true in the valley, but I see no reason to believe that this is true in many other markets.

0xffff26y ago

Really? "the valley"? I think you'd be closer to the mark if you said it's true in most major metro areas. That still leaves many other markets, but the ubiquity Uber/Lyft is hardly a Silicon Valley only phenomenon.

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fgonzag6y ago

Uber has replaced a good chunk of taxi usage in most of the big cities around the world. Even many medium sized ones in developing countries.

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Fricken6y ago

cactus20936y ago

Why do you think they’ll manage to socialize the losses?

my_username_is_6y ago

There have also been public losses. Transit ridership tends to decrease with increased ridesharing. This means more cars on the roads, less money for public transit, and more pollution.

1 more reply

ghaff6y ago

Yes, they lose some volume but Uber/Lyft is probably a pretty strongly engrained habit for many at this point.

lonelappde6y ago

The price would get so high that demand would plummet -- more shared/saver rides or public transit or own drive or flexcar/cargo carshare outside of the densest Urban cores.

ghaff6y ago

sachdevap6y ago

> but Uber/Lyft is probably a pretty strongly engrained habit for many at this point.

Might be true in the valley, but I see no reason to believe that this is true in many other markets.

0xffff26y ago

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fgonzag6y ago

Uber has replaced a good chunk of taxi usage in most of the big cities around the world. Even many medium sized ones in developing countries.

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