Uber Posts $708M Loss as Finance Head Leaves

Re:Uber Posts $708M Loss as Finance Head Leaves by nullnilvoid on Wednesday May 31, 2017 @08:54PM (#14457123)

Many of my friends open both Lyft and Uber. They choose whichever is cheaper. Sure, Lyft might take a few more minutes to arrive. If you time it well ahead, it does not cost you more time. For me, I would rather take Lyft even if it is a little more expensive and takes a little longer. I hope Lyft catches up and makes it a real competition, which benefits consumers eventually.

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Re:Uber Posts $708M Loss as Finance Head Leaves by threeseed on Wednesday May 31, 2017 @09:03PM (#14457172)

In Australia we only have Uber and taxis. Nobody is switching to taxis because of a 10% price increase. Because most people are using Uber for the fact that they will always come, always pick you up and always drop you off at the right spot.

So it's fantastic that Lyft is doing okay in the US. But Uber is playing a whole different game.

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Re:Uber Posts $708M Loss as Finance Head Leaves by inopinatus on Wednesday May 31, 2017 @10:21PM (#14457499)

This is incorrect. We have had private hire vehicles in Australia for years. Many of them are now also taking rides via Uber, but I've had black sedans to/from the airport for as long as I can remember.

The only things Uber add to the service mix is an app and a bad attitude, neither of which create any value for me.

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Re:Uber Posts $708M Loss as Finance Head Leaves by threeseed on Thursday June 01, 2017 @01:45AM (#14458261)

I've never heard of private hire cars being used by consumers and ordinary people sure as hell aren't using them to goto the pub or shopping centre and back.

What Uber brings to the table isn't high end hire cars but rather UberX which is a game changer for price and quality. Finally taxis can't refuse to take you somewhere or not use the GPS. And not sure how you had a "bad attitude" experience given how seriously drivers take their ratings.

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Re:Uber Posts $708M Loss as Finance Head Leaves by inopinatus on Thursday June 01, 2017 @02:21AM (#14458361)

Let me correct you. I am a consumer and I use private hire cars, because I value their professionalism, cleanliness and punctuality which comes for a very modest premium.

This often surprises Australians, so if you are one of them you're not alone. In my view Australia has a culturally ingrained reverse snobbery, which leads to false judgements about value and utility.

The "bad attitude" I believe is clearly attributed to Uber, not their independent not-employees-at-all contractors, whose exploitation, low income, and zero benefits I have some limited sympathy for.

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Re:Uber Posts $708M Loss as Finance Head Leaves by jpatokal on Thursday June 01, 2017 @12:41AM (#14458040)

Private hire cars are not a realistic alternative to Uber or taxis in most cases, since they generally have to be booked well in advance. In Australia, they're also significantly more expensive than taxis.

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Re:Uber Posts $708M Loss as Finance Head Leaves by inopinatus on Thursday June 01, 2017 @01:29AM (#14458196)

Wrong and wrong. I took one to the airport today, I called thirty minutes ahead, and it cost less than a metered fare.

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Re:Uber Posts $708M Loss as Finance Head Leaves by jpatokal on Thursday June 01, 2017 @02:28AM (#14458382)

Where in Australia are you, and what company did you use? In both Sydney and Melbourne, all the hire cars I know of cost more.

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Re:Uber Posts $708M Loss as Finance Head Leaves by inopinatus on Thursday June 01, 2017 @02:34AM (#14458398)

Melbourne, and I have a VHA account. Metered fares from my home to MEL are inflated by extensive never-ending roadworks. The fixed-rate private hire cars are excellent value for that route. For everything else it's a modest premium, and one I'm very happy to pay.

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Re:Uber Posts $708M Loss as Finance Head Leaves by HXFIVE on Wednesday May 31, 2017 @10:02PM (#14457410)

Exactly. I'm in Australia and have no idea how Uber and taxi prices compare. I use Uber because of the quality of their product.

Not a big fan of Uber as a company though. If Lyft of another viable competitor set up shop here then I'd be open to switching.

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Re:Uber Posts $708M Loss as Finance Head Leaves by BigJono on Thursday June 01, 2017 @03:22AM (#14458549)

I can give a very small sample of data. Uber is $30-33 to my suburb on a Thursday night. I even had a $28 once which is ludicrous (I calculated the theoretical minimum cost of the route to be around $27.50 so it was almost a perfect run).

I've caught taxis on the exact same route twice because my phone was dead and I couldn't order an Uber. One was $48 and the other was $55. I believe it's more on a Friday or Saturday (they have some 'off-peak' fee or something), but Uber obviously has the occasional surge on those nights too.

Using Taxis, in Melbourne at least, seems to be lighting money on fire.

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