i only recently started using uber/lyft and finding myself using one thats cheaper at the moment w/ no particular preference to the either app. i also see most drivers using both apps at the same time to pick up their next ride; bcuz it makes sense for them. i guess uber proly has edge on general public awareness, but lyft isnt doing that bad in that dept either. so is Uber rly going to reap that monopoly benefit?? it seems very different from what happened to search with google or sns with facebook. in those, i ended up sticking with one search engine and one SNS like everyone else, but i dont see myself sticking with one taxi app nor do i see the reason why i would.. if anything, taxi app competition feels similar to flight apps competition: expedia v. hotwire v. priceline v. kayak.. no one is a clear monopoly there and alot of ppl do flight searches across multiple sites w/ no brand loyalty.
Search and FB - both created lock-in effects. The more you search on Google, the better it gets - more personalized and relevant to you, and also to everyone else. The more you share on Facebook the more everyone else wants to stay, read, watch and share on Facebook. The problem with the taxi business is that it's so commoditized that there's little barrier to entry and almost no switching cost for both - drivers and users. Both are free to switch to a competitor who gives them better price, or better availability, or both. To win on the lock in effect, Uber will have to utilize its massive user base. Maybe personalize to select the right kind of drivers for your personality based on data, or use the travel history of users to predict their next need and keep a cab waiting, or maybe even create an 'Uber Prime'.
No. "Predatory pricing" as it's claimed Uber is engaging in rarely works in practice to drive out the competition.
is that true? counter example : Amazon
Amazon offered lower prices to drive out its competition, but I don't think they've followed that up by e.g. jacking up the price of books to as much or more as what bookstores were selling them at. Nor do I think they'd be able to get away with it if they tried (it's too easy to launch a competing retailer).
They would have limits to how much they could increase their prices. If they got greedy enough they'd hit margins high enough to justify new startups to open up
I've asked the same question on blind before. the answer I got was - the more the data a company has, the more efficient the operational costs. think optimizing where drivers are, load prediction etc. The lowered costs make rides cheaper. Honestly, that still sounds like airlines than Google, fb.
Amazon is your poster child example for that theory. More data comes from more people buying and selling on your platform (Monopoly) and that leads to more efficient logistics. The problem with transportation is that the savings from efficient logistics is peanuts compared to savings from firing the drivers (self driving cars).
Well, your argument seems to assume that only Uber would reap the benefits of self driving cars. I tend to think self driving cars would be ubiquitous. The benefits on logistics/scale though are local to Amazon. Compare Walmart online store that takes ages to deliver compared to an Amazon where you have everything you need and it gets delivered to you in a couple of days. With uber, I don't clearly see the advantage they'd have over waymo or Lyft.
Priceline is no monopoly but is almost 100b now. Why do you care if uber is monopoly
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Uber will be strong as long as there is a 2 sided market place. Once self driving cars come, it's essentially who has better tech and more money.
the op mentioned most drivers use both apps, so two sided marketplace argument is suspect
2sided as in driver-rider. It can be either for Lyft or Uber or both.