Re:Uber's Loss Exceeds $800M in Q3 on $1.7B in Net Revenue
by lsc on Tuesday December 20, 2016 @02:51AM
(#13218194)
>This is a company making money that is pursuing a blitzkrieg on the industry. They can sit back any day and rake in billions. I agree there isn't a high entry barrier, but I don't think they've lost the first-to-market advantage.
The problem here is that ridership at current prices is rather higher than ridership at 2x current prices... and 2x current prices only brings you up to break-even. you want to bring that up to the point where Uber is making billions? ridership is going to fall off a cliff.
I use uber a lot mostly because it's really cheap; For five bucks? yeah, for five bucks, I'll have someone drive me to work. if that goes to $10 or $20? Yeah, I'll still use it when I go to the bar or when my car is broken or something, but for that kinda scratch I'm probably taking a shuttle, driving myself, or using a bicycle to go to work.
The point here is that Uber's competition isn't really lyft or the cab companies, it's the car I have sitting in my own driveway.
The problem here is that ridership at current prices is rather higher than ridership at 2x current prices... and 2x current prices only brings you up to break-even. you want to bring that up to the point where Uber is making billions? ridership is going to fall off a cliff.
I use uber a lot mostly because it's really cheap; For five bucks? yeah, for five bucks, I'll have someone drive me to work. if that goes to $10 or $20? Yeah, I'll still use it when I go to the bar or when my car is broken or something, but for that kinda scratch I'm probably taking a shuttle, driving myself, or using a bicycle to go to work.
The point here is that Uber's competition isn't really lyft or the cab companies, it's the car I have sitting in my own driveway.