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Re:Uber and Lyft drivers' median hourly wage is just $3.37, ... by prostoalex on Friday March 02, 2018 @01:51AM (#16499646)
The driverless revolution (whenever it takes place) seems to favor fleet management companies, not dispatch companies.

It lowers the barrier for entry to pretty much anybody, with fleet manager taking care of car washes, interior clean-ups, refueling, parking at idle hours, ongoing maintenance and fixing occasional flat tires.

What part of Uber/Lyft business model makes them more sustainable when compared to Hertz, Avis, Budget, Alamo, Dollar, Fox Rent-a-car, ZipCar, Tesla Driving Network, any local car dealer with excess inventory, Ford- or Mercedes- or any other maker-branded service, or a small mom-and-pop operation with just a couple vehicles in their fleet?

Re:Uber and Lyft drivers' median hourly wage is just $3.37, ... by chris11 on Friday March 02, 2018 @02:41AM (#16499817)
I'd say that Uber/Lyft would be better positioned to take advantage of driverless vehicles. The hard part is the tech, personal for fleet management is a cost center. They have already mastered outsourcing low-skill cost center type jobs to large numbers of poorly paid contractors. And both companies have business relationships with fleet management companies.

So once either company successfully develops proprietary IP that enables fully autonomous cars they should have a clear road to profitably. They can use their existing relationships with fleet management companies to handle that part. And that is a mature industry, so the presence of a lot of capable competitors will keep costs down for Uber/Lyft. If they do need to do a bunch of hiring for new low-skill positions they can probably outsource it easily. I think the major winners will be tech companies and car makers. I don't think the fleet management industry will capture the majority of the profits, but they will probably get a minor portion.