Re:G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft
by hueving on Monday January 04, 2016 @06:57PM
(#10839818)
We already have taxis, Uber and rental cars. People still seem to be buying cars even at their high price. Why do you think that is?
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Re:G.M. Invests $500M in Lyft
by toomuchtodo on Monday January 04, 2016 @07:19PM
(#10839938)
Because there is no self-driving option. If there is, and the price of rides plummets (no driver = cheap, all electric = even cheaper), it no longer behooves you to tie up so much capital in a vehicle you own.
Think how much consumer excess would occur from 300 million people not having to buy a vehicle outright.
And anyone driving their own car needs to pay for parking, plus for full insurance, registration and so on. Free street parking will gradually disappear and off-street parking is not going to get any cheaper.
> And anyone driving their own car needs to pay for parking, plus for full insurance, registration and so on.
Those costs don't go away just because you're renting. In the same way property taxes don't disappear just because you aren't paying them directly in a leased apartment.
> Free street parking will gradually disappear and off-street parking is not going to get any cheaper.
This applies to maybe 10% of the population. And I feel like that's pretty generous. You probably haven't seen much of the US outside of the North East if you think that's even remotely plausible.