In the USA perhaps. Some of the other countries they operate in had and have taxis, and food delivery, that work just fine. All Uber has done is introduce unreliable, heavily subsidised - and therefore unfair - competition.

It's the Walmart model: Make a loss until the others go under thanks to deepest pockets. When none remain, raise prices markedly.

Not just in the US; I live in Europe and fully welcomed Uber's arrival. And as I expected, after they opened the market many more competitors came, so I don't even have to keep using them. In a moment they'll go under due to their unsustainable model, leaving more decent companies in charge.

Oh I'm sure there's plenty of places where they've helped.

I think you're right about the future though - unlike a Walmart I see precious little lock-in for Uber.

Ah, so that's what it's called. I thought that was the Amazon model.