Uber’s IPO means higher fares for rides

Re:Uber’s IPO means higher fares for rides by sna1l on Monday June 03, 2019 @02:00AM (#20080725)

I forgot where I read the article, but someone mentioned that the Softbank strategy seems to be to geared towards having 2 major players in ridesharing/delivery in each market. The idea was that when these companies go public, they will stop subsidizing rides as much in order to show profit, and will become viable businesses.

Because these companies have a new war chest of money, if any new upstarts come into the game, they can have a short-term price war to drive these players out. The US seems to be the first market where this strategy will play out.

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Re:Uber’s IPO means higher fares for rides by Moxdi on Monday June 03, 2019 @02:03AM (#20080737)

is that sustainable though?

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Re:Uber’s IPO means higher fares for rides by sna1l on Monday June 03, 2019 @02:06AM (#20080750)

Honestly, I have no idea.

Lots of people have gotten very used to taking Uber/Lyft places. Once the prices go up, will that behavior change? The original iPhone sold at 500 to 1500 for the XSMax 512 GB. Obviously it isn't an apples to apples comparison, but I think the crux of the strategy depends on how inelastic ridesharing is.

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