Uber

Chat about non-baseball topics. No political discussions!
Post Reply
tlombard
tl;dr
Posts: 5053
Joined: May 21 09, 12:41 pm

Re: Uber

Post by tlombard »

But Uber is losing all that money because each ride costs them more than the fare they charge after paying the drivers. Riiight.

User avatar
Transmogrified Tiger
Puppy Murderer
Posts: 9334
Joined: April 25 06, 6:07 pm
Location: Across the River

Re: Uber

Post by Transmogrified Tiger »

tlombard wrote:But Uber is losing all that money because each ride costs them more than the fare they charge after paying the drivers. Riiight.
They have raised just under 9 billion dollars in venture capital. They are indeed losing money on a per ride basis.

tlombard
tl;dr
Posts: 5053
Joined: May 21 09, 12:41 pm

Re: Uber

Post by tlombard »

What I mean by losing money on each ride isn't that they aren't losing money, it's that the reason the company is losing money is because of the way they spend what they've raised. You'll never convince me that the IT infrastructure is so expensive that it costs them more to run than they are bringing in on fares. To me that is what they are wanting people to believe when they say they are losing money on every ride as if we should feel sorry for them. They don't pay for maintenance or gas on the cars. They simply run the IT and payment portion and then take their 20%.

My belief is that they are losing money because they are spending so much everywhere else and basically spending money to try and be jerks. They spend so much money trying to get cities to pass laws and regulations in their favor and fighting legal battles that I just think is stupid. If a city tried to pass a law that Uber cars had to have four wheels I'm almost certain they would spend an insane amount of money to fight even that!

And then they do things like pull out of Austin because the people (their customers) voted in a law that requires the drivers have fingerprint checks before working there. That actually makes me extremely mad. That cost for the fingerprint check wouldn't be on them since the drivers 'aren't employees' anyway. They are basically just throwing a temper tantrum and turning down tons of revenue because they didn't get their way. And what about moving their self driving car tests to Arizona? That had to cost a lot of money to move the operation and it was all because they refused to pay a single $150 permit fee. They are just dead set on this idea that they are so different that nothing applies to them which is complete BS.

Those are all just my views on things and I could be wrong but until somebody can show me why I am wrong, I'm sticking to my beliefs and hatred of the people running Uber.

User avatar
Transmogrified Tiger
Puppy Murderer
Posts: 9334
Joined: April 25 06, 6:07 pm
Location: Across the River

Re: Uber

Post by Transmogrified Tiger »

I have no positive feelings towards Uber myself, what I'm saying is that you are incorrect about why they're losing money. Lavish corporate meetings are a drop in the bucket. They're losing money because they're intentionally pricing low, it's a revenue thing and not about expenses.

tlombard
tl;dr
Posts: 5053
Joined: May 21 09, 12:41 pm

Re: Uber

Post by tlombard »

I think we're pretty much on the same page and I guess I didn't mean to imply that the lavish trip to Vegas was the main issue or perks or whatever either. My main issue is how much they spend lobbying and fighting legal battles when it comes to issues that I don't agree with.

And you are correct that they are intentionally setting the prices low to try and get a dominant position in the market. I don't disagree with that strategy for a business, especially when it means lower fares for me. I don't like the company but I do use Uber from time to time simply because it is more convenient for me now that cabs are taking longer to get with more drivers and passengers defecting to Uber. I've had multiple Uber drivers who used to be cab drivers but left the cab companies because their customers were switching to Uber and there wasn't as much business for them. And I know they were former cab drivers because they have commented that they had picked me up before when they were cab drivers which leads into the conversations about why they switched.

I just don't like the way they do business and they way they try and characterize their business in general so while it may be irrational, I'll continue with my insane ramblings about them... probably forever. I'm not even 40 but I already feel ready to be that old guy yelling at kids to get off his lawn. I'm probably just as bad as some of the nutjobs out there who rant against everything but at least I accept the fact that I'm not being rational on certain issues and don't have a problem with people telling me that I'm wrong even if they won't change my mind with regards to Uber or my dislike of Chicago (because of the cubs and the many cubs fans I know who now live in St. Louis which is not fair to what is a fine city but it is what it is and I don't like anything Chicago).

User avatar
pioneer98
Hall Of Famer
Posts: 22250
Joined: July 15 08, 8:24 pm
Location: High A Minors

Re: Uber

Post by pioneer98 »


User avatar
Famous Mortimer
Perennial All-Star
Posts: 3636
Joined: November 14 14, 5:23 am
Location: Cherokee

Re: Uber

Post by Famous Mortimer »

I presume this is a thing that everyone does now, but I discovered a local company that has an Uber-esque app, you can pay online etc. "A-Super Taxi", seem like good folks.

User avatar
Schlich
Don't tone police me bro!
Posts: 10883
Joined: July 1 06, 7:24 pm
Location: Lost in the Cloud

Re: Uber

Post by Schlich »

Famous Mortimer wrote:I presume this is a thing that everyone does now, but I discovered a local company that has an Uber-esque app, you can pay online etc. "A-Super Taxi", seem like good folks.
They are employee owned so I've been pimping them every chance I get. I hope they've gotten enough regulars lately to expand their fleet a little bit, you have to order well ahead of time to get reliable service.

tlombard
tl;dr
Posts: 5053
Joined: May 21 09, 12:41 pm

Re: Uber

Post by tlombard »

I've never heard of A-Super Taxi but Laclede Cab has had an app that does the same thing as Uber's since a few months after Uber opened up shop and way before Uber started here in town (plus you still have the option of not paying through the app).

I will have to check A-ST out.

User avatar
Famous Mortimer
Perennial All-Star
Posts: 3636
Joined: November 14 14, 5:23 am
Location: Cherokee

Re: Uber

Post by Famous Mortimer »

I just used A-ST to get from the airport to Maplewood, and it was $25. No idea if it's a good deal, but the driver seemed pleased about the arrangement. He rents the cab for $50 a day, and with the volume of medical insurance-related trips they get to do, he can make that on one journey. Being able to pay online is pretty decent, though, as you don't need to worry about carrying cash, getting ripped off, etc.

Post Reply