Comment Uber et al aren't really going businesses (Score 1) 28
I think it has been obvious that the high tech taxi companies are faced with the same problems that ultimately limited the number of licensed cabs to begin with. There aren't enough customers who are willing to pay for enough rides at the price it actually costs to provide that ride. A high tech dispatch system doesn't really cut costs enough to make that much difference. Uber has been subsidizing every ride with investment capital. That can't work indefinitely. So it is experimenting with how to shift costs onto drivers while still having enough people willing to drive. At some point it will have to start charging more for rides. Whether there is a profitable point where income exceeds costs is doubtful. They are hoping self-driving cars will make up the difference. But its not clear Uber can make money while paying for its cabs instead of putting that cost on the drivers.