Can Uber Be Saved From Itself?

[FrodosNewPet]

Can Uber Be Saved From Itself?

‘They have dug themselves a very deep hole’

http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/6/14791080/uber-sexism-scandal-strike-waymo-lawsuit-travis-kalanick

by Andrew J. Hawkins@andyjayhawk Mar 6, 2017, 9:30am EST

The week began with a terribly embarrassing video of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick being a jerk to one of his drivers, and ended with a bombshell report about a secret and legally questionable program used by Uber to evade government scrutiny globally called “Greyball.” For any other company, this confluence of bad press would have seemed catastrophic. For Uber, it was just another week in February.

Uber has been engulfed in a new scandal almost every week for the past month, and every single day for the past two weeks, from allegations of a toxic, misogynistic workplace to the revelation that its self-driving cars were malfunctioning and possibly running on stolen technology.

~ snip ~

Uber’s combative streak served it well in the beginning, when its goals were to decimate the traditional taxi industry and barnstorm its way across the globe, gobbling up market share in its relentless quest to become everyone’s de facto mode of transportation. But now the company’s chickens are coming home to roost, and Uber appears to be at a loss for what to do.

~ snip ~

How can Uber win back disenchanted drivers when it’s simultaneously suing the city of Seattle to block the implementation of a law allowing gig economy workers to unionize? The company recently — and perhaps toothlessly — named 2017 “the year of the driver.” Yet it continues to keep fares low and resist efforts to include a tipping option in the app. Uber’s disruptive effect on the labor market in the US is still being examined, but the early data is mixed. What’s clear is that Uber isn’t being forthcoming about the quality of life it offers. The Federal Trade Commission recently found that Uber had lied to drivers in 20 cities about earnings and vehicle financing. Some drivers sleep in their cars so they can work grueling, back-to-back shifts to earn enough money to survive.

~ snip ~

[hr]

Uber is a great concept, but a lousy company.

The traditional taxi industry developed a well-earned bad reputation for dirty cars, rude drivers, and slow service which enabled the rapid rise of a service like Uber. Alas, in the Randian quest for rapid growth, power, and market share, Uber made a string of mistakes that could destroy it.

[oberliner]

1. Uber is here to stay

People love it.

[Sherman A1]

2. As self driving cars become more of a reality

I think Uber will either evolve or be replaced. In ei case the driver will not be a factor. Until that time they might want to moderate their tone a bit.

[oberliner]

3. That's a good point

How far away are we, do you think, from self driving cars being the norm?

[Sherman A1]

4. I am guessing that it is within 10 years

technological advances are just going to come faster and faster. Workers will be replaced at an ever increasing rate and we really need to have an idea of just what the devil all these folks are going to do for both income and meaning in their lives.

[FSogol]

15. They'll be replaced. Someone will step into that market with fresh money and take it over. n/t

[FrodosNewPet]

6. How long can they keep losing money?

In their quest for market share, Uber is subsidizing every run. And keep in mind, just because their valuation is around $69 Billion, that does not mean they have $69 Billion in cash. If they keep losing massive amounts of other people's money, they are eventually going to run out..Unless some more deep pockets keep capitalizing them. Which, given all the negative press, seems less and less likely.
[hr]
How Uber Could End Up As Silicon Valley's Most Spectacular Crash

http://www.newsweek.com/uber-turn-silicon-valley-spectacular-crash-563716?rx=us

By Kevin Maney On 3/4/17 at 7:50 AM

Just a year ago, Uber reigned as the tech industry’s awe-inspiring, all-powerful Wizard of Oz. But lately, the curtain is being pulled back to reveal a guy who’s more like an angry drunk frantically yanking levers while taking roundhouse swings at the Tin Man and propositioning Dorothy.

Uber is in a whole lot of bad right now, and there’s growing concern that it’s about to melt down like a haywire nuclear reactor, which would leave a crater in the heart of Silicon Valley. Uber gave us on-demand transportation. Countless people all over the world love this new kind of service. The category is only going to get bigger. But it’s possible it will do that without Uber.

~ snip ~

And then there is Uber’s financial picture. The company is private, but some of its numbers have been leaked. Bloomberg reported that Uber lost $800 million in the third quarter of 2016. Some speculate Uber may have lost $3 billion last year. Uber is a costly business to run. To serve more customers, it needs to bring in and pay more drivers, so the company can’t take advantage of economies of scale. It has little pricing power because it still faces competition from Lyft and taxis and other newcomers including Maven, which is a unit of General Motors. In order to have the cash to fund operations and expansion, Uber has brought in round after round of private investment, pumping up the valuation of the company to nearly $70 billion. That would make Uber worth more than GM. Raise your hand if you think that makes sense.

The sky-high valuation may be haunting Uber. Kalanick has famously refused to take Uber public, even though the company, at eight years old, is in the sweet spot of when many tech companies do an initial public offering. He makes his stance sound like a maverick’s declaration of independence from public markets, but whispers now are that Uber’s finances might not justify an IPO at a valuation high enough to make current investors happy. If that’s true, Uber is in a hole. It won’t be able to raise money from anyone who has passed sixth-grade math.

~ snip ~

[NWCorona]

14. Uber has to stop bleeding money first.

[The Big Ragu]

5. In the future

we will all work for Uber.

[gopiscrap]

7. welcome to DU

[The Big Ragu]

8. Thank you

[FrodosNewPet]

10. LOL!

Doing what?

Travis wants, NEEDS to replace all the drivers with self driving cars. So not much long term future in driving for Uber.

https://www.cnet.com/news/uber-will-be-a-robotics-company-in-the-future-ceo-says/

"When the software is driving the car, you see what the software see," Kalanick said describing what it's like to be in one of these cars. "As we move towards the future, autonomy is a pretty critical thing for us. It's existential."

[The Big Ragu]

12. I was joking

because I notice so many cars with Uber stickers.

[FrodosNewPet]

13. Yep, I was hit by Poe's Law

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe's_law

[gopiscrap]

9. unless Uber unionizes: fuck 'em

[Lee-Lee]

11. Uber is doubling down on being anti-union. At this point no real progressive should be using it

https://www.google.com/amp/s/thenextweb.com/us/2017/03/13/uber-is-forcing-drivers-in-seattle-to-listen-to-anti-union-propaganda/%3Famp%3D1

I drove part time and a friend did a lot for a while. It was a somewhat good concept, but as I saw more and more they were anti-union and anti-government overall I understood the evil behind the veneer of the "cool tech company"