Re:Will Uber Ever Stop the Bleeding?
by nephersir7 on Friday December 01, 2017 @04:02PM
(#15827444)
Meanwhile, car-sharing companies like Car2Go (Daimler AG) already are profitable operations that already own and manage large fleets.
When driverless tech becomes available, they'll be much better positioned than Uber.
Re:Will Uber Ever Stop the Bleeding?
by XR0CSWV3h3kZWg on Friday December 01, 2017 @05:14PM
(#15828164)
Oddly I haven't found them to be significantly cheaper than Uber for an equivalent distance. In some cases they are more convenient so I still use them, but I do find it odd that it isn't cheaper.
1) Achieve driverless tech at a safe enough level that they don't carry a huge insurance/legal cost
2) Build out a fleet of cars, maintenance regiment, security team etc.
1 seems to be a huge sticking point for them. And for 2, uber has never had to have large carrying capital costs. They spend on ads, subsidizing rides and legal battles, not purchasing and maintaining vehicles.
Right now they have successfully externalized a lot of costs to their drivers. That will go away. They also still won't have customer lock-in even if they achieve the dream. Others will be hot on their tail and then they'll be back to a race to the bottom where the core competencies are: fleet maintenance, ride optimization and capital costs that far outstrip their current operation.
They have an advantage in ride optimization, not the rest of it.