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Old 02-25-2017, 02:40 PM   #2401
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Meh. If I can save money in the mean time I don't care too much.
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Old 02-25-2017, 02:59 PM   #2402
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If Uber goes away it will because of a radical shift in technology in the transit industry, none of this other BS that the people who have hated Uber from the beginning keep throwing at the wall to see what sticks. Will there be a radical shift in the next ten years, probably, but if Uber fails it's because they didn't adjust like Blockbuster, not because they are associated with Trump, have some internal bad PR/HR problems, or whatever pro-union, anti-competition, socialists, can get their hands on to try and smear them.

As someone who travels a lot for work, I continually see Uber getting bigger and bigger and becoming more ingrained in society, especially in the US. You might as well call the ride share industry Uber, because the two are mostly synominist which each other is. Casinos, malls, airports, resorts, tourists attractions all incorporating ride share into their infrastructure more and more by the day.

For a company that supposedly pays below minimum wage, treats drivers like ####, etc. , they sure do have a lot of them. I've taken Uber quite a few times here in a Calgary lately and have asked the drivers what they think about it, and have yet to get a negative answer yet.

Seems that Uber has basically fixed the insurance issue in most towns, so it's on to the next step to try and discredit them.

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Old 02-25-2017, 03:20 PM   #2403
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Meh. If I can save money in the mean time I don't care too much.
It's not about saving money for me, it's all about reliability, ease, and when I'm out of town I can't be screwed by a cab driver taking me the long route or by not flipping his meter on and just charging me an inflated "tourist" price. I paid more the other night to get home (surge pricing) with Uber than a cab because I knew someone would be coming and they were not going to leave me for another fare on their way that they liked better.
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Old 02-25-2017, 03:28 PM   #2404
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Uber: not only did you finally bust up the Taxi Cartel in Calgary, but you clearly also inspired the Aberdolf Lincler character from Rick and Morty, and for that, we thank you.
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Old 02-25-2017, 03:34 PM   #2405
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Uber might be the best thing ever invented.
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Old 02-25-2017, 05:15 PM   #2406
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Does it matter if Uber is doomed? Prices likely go up but now that they did the leg work getting taxi laws restructured someone more efficient should fill the gap.
I mostly put that link here because I thought the article is worth reading and this thread made sense as a place to put it. Uber is a rather symbolic company in good ways and bad, so whether or not it's going to fail is I think an interesting question in itself.

I do have a personal dislike for this kind of business practice, but my personal decision to not use Uber is also very much connected to how I see the taxi system in Helsinki. (In other words: I don't think the taxi system in Helsinki needs disrupting that bad.)

I have no comments on how the taxis are like in Calgary and whether or not they need disrupting. I'm just throwing the info out there for those that are interested.

I mean, you can easily argue that driving with Uber equals is essentially helping stupid people with too much money waste their investments, and I can certainly get on board with that
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Old 02-25-2017, 05:47 PM   #2407
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I mostly put that link here because I thought the article is worth reading and this thread made sense as a place to put it. Uber is a rather symbolic company in good ways and bad, so whether or not it's going to fail is I think an interesting question in itself.

I do have a personal dislike for this kind of business practice, but my personal decision to not use Uber is also very much connected to how I see the taxi system in Helsinki. (In other words: I don't think the taxi system in Helsinki needs disrupting that bad.)

I have no comments on how the taxis are like in Calgary and whether or not they need disrupting. I'm just throwing the info out there for those that are interested.

I mean, you can easily argue that driving with Uber equals is essentially helping stupid people with too much money waste their investments, and I can certainly get on board with that
I think you would have had to live here for a period of time between 2000-2014 to understand just how bad the taxi industry treated the citizens of this city. Just deplorable. Uber may have some negatives, but people here were so used to being screwed that any alternative would we welcomed with open arms, even if it had some warts. I lived in 4 different provinces, and travel frequently and I can honestly say I've never been any where in the modern world that had as crappy as a taxi industry as Calgary used to have.
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Old 02-27-2017, 10:24 AM   #2408
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Hard to say if Uber is doomed. Overvalued? Most likely. Terrible culture? Possibly. Neither of which spell out doom to me. Even if Uber doesn't last, I think the ride-share industry is here to stay.As others have stated, anything that helps keep the taxi cartel in Calgary in line is good to me.
It seems to me the investment in driverless technology is a great thing as well. What seems like science fiction only a few years ago feels like an inevitability now, and I think the private sector is driving that.

Will be taking my first Uber in a couple of weeks. Will report on how it goes, but looking forward to having a choice.
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Old 02-27-2017, 02:04 PM   #2409
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Has this been posted, yet?

Uber IS doomed. Follow-up post to the original article.

http://climateerinvest.blogspot.ca/2...is-doomed.html

And more on the company's terrible operating economics. Uber was a flash in the plan, and nothing more.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/...economics.html

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Old 02-27-2017, 03:13 PM   #2410
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Again, no dog in the fight as I have yet to take an Uber ride and certainly wouldn't invest in it, but the ride-share industry should be here to stay.

Uber does seem to have that weird tech-bubble aura about it. How could it ever be worth $69 billion?
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Old 02-27-2017, 03:27 PM   #2411
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As GGG said, Uber might be doomed but it doesn't matter.

They changed an industry, that change might not be Uber-branded in the future, but it's one that we'll see stick around in some form or another for a long long time.
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Old 02-27-2017, 03:28 PM   #2412
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Again, no dog in the fight as I have yet to take an Uber ride and certainly wouldn't invest in it, but the ride-share industry should be here to stay.

Uber does seem to have that weird tech-bubble aura about it. How could it ever be worth $69 billion?
It isn't a real valuation. They basically have taken the amount that Uber has fundraised and multiplied it by 10x.

The company lost a record-breaking $3B last year.
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Old 02-27-2017, 04:19 PM   #2413
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This is reminding me of something...

“If you show revenue, people will ask how much, and it will never be enough. It’s not about how much you earn but what you’re worth, and who’s worth the most?

Companies that lose money.”
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Old 02-27-2017, 07:27 PM   #2414
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Again, no dog in the fight as I have yet to take an Uber ride and certainly wouldn't invest in it, but the ride-share industry should be here to stay.
Maybe, but then again Lyft also lost $600M last year, and Sidecar already shut down.

If none of the ride-share companies make money, there might be something fundamentally wrong with the business model.
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Old 02-27-2017, 07:35 PM   #2415
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It's almost like the fare taxi's charge is what is required to run a barely profitable business...
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Old 02-27-2017, 08:56 PM   #2416
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Yeah, I don't see how they can be profitable at the rates they charge, but that's not my problem. I really don't care what they charge. I don't need a taxi or an Uber very often, so when I do, I will pay the going rate. I just want the car to show up.
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Old 02-27-2017, 09:05 PM   #2417
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I don't even know why Uber is cheaper than local cab rate. They should charge the same as the going rate, and earn their money on accessibility. I'm more than happy to pay my way home, I just want to get a ride when I need a ride.
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Old 02-27-2017, 09:55 PM   #2418
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I don't even know why Uber is cheaper than local cab rate. They should charge the same as the going rate, and earn their money on accessibility. I'm more than happy to pay my way home, I just want to get a ride when I need a ride.
Yeah, it's a bit perplexing, especially in a city like Calgary. I'd even pay a premium to Uber for reliability and the fact that I am that mad at the cab companies I would do anything to screw them. I doubt I'm alone in that regard.
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Old 02-27-2017, 10:18 PM   #2419
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It's almost like the fare taxi's charge is what is required to run a barely profitable business...
We've heard for years that it's six figures for a taxi license in Calgary. It's definitely profitable when they are making that kind of investment. And if it was "barely profitable", they wouldn't be so protective of it. I don't know (and I doubt) it's the everyday drivers making the big bucks, but it's definitely profitable for someone.

As for Uber, I use it a couple times a week to get to work and it's about a buck a minute. For the same ride in a cab, it's probably $1.25 a minute. 10 bucks in an Uber, and about $12.50 in a cab. I have no idea what either of them pay on the backend , and I don't really care. I get better service from Uber for a lower price. Seems like a good deal to me, and I'd pay even more.

Also, an Uber driver has a stake in going the fast way and not dicking around.
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Old 02-27-2017, 10:22 PM   #2420
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Uber's current business model is definitely not sustainable in the long run.

Given that they're pouring a lot of money into R&D for self-driving cars, they just need to survive until they can start replacing the human drivers with self driving cars.

Huge upfront cost and huge risks, but the business model can be viable in the long run if they remove human drivers from the equation.
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