
Ask HN: How would Uber or Airbnb fare against subscription model? - samblr
Assume there is a new competitor (a company, gov, union).<p>And it&#x27;s business model is below:<p>A constant X% of what they make in each transaction until a max of $100 is paid per month.<p>And after $100 is paid, a small percentage to cover card payment expenses(like stripe) from customers.<p>Think of it like a mix of &#x27;Pay-as-you-go + SaaS&#x27; model.<p>Why this ?<p>Sure companies like Uber-Airbnb empower a lot of individuals. But for the technology they offer (producer-consumer of service match, reviews, few fields of text and pictures) the cut in profit is huge! I understand there is much more &#x27;science&#x27; involved than I have mentioned. But yet, I am comparing tech behind these companies with say a search engine like Google. Or even comparing it with Amazon which atleast owns warehouses. Uber&#x2F;Airbnb don&#x27;t own any of physical assets and I fail to see why its &#x27;partners or service providers&#x27; would hesitate to migrate.<p>Some numbers:<p>Number of taxis in US : ~234000<p>Subscription revenue &#x2F; year : 234000 x 12 months x ~70 = ~196 Million.<p>Number of uber drivers in US : ~160000<p>Subscription revenue &#x2F; year : 160000 x 12 months x ~50 = ~96 Million.<p>---------------------------------------<p>Basically, I am kind of against companies which help producer-consumer meet and then take share from every transaction. Why cannot it be like service provider rents a place in &#x27;cloud&#x27; for a price&#x2F;month and do his business.<p>edit: formatting and clarification on pricing.
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smt88
> _But for the technology they offer (producer-consumer of service match,
> reviews, few fields of text and pictures) the cut in profit is huge!_

Uber and Lyft are far from profitable. Some people have described Uber as a
public charity.

You also misunderstand what Uber is doing beyond building a simple app and
opening signups. They spend an enormous amount of money (many billions)
marketing, which is necessary to keep both sides of the market. Without enough
drivers, riders will leave. Without enough riders, drivers will leave. They
need to keep both sides engaged.

They're also putting a lot of effort into lobbying and getting around taxi
laws. It's expensive and legally risky.

Finally, both Uber and Lyft have tested subscriptions and seem to have decided
against them.

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samblr
I understand Gov are lagging behind in these things. But still I cannot help
but think why can't it be done ? And how can Uber/Lyft survive vs their own
SaaS avatars.

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sharemywin
Unless you can guarantee a wage no one would want a subscription.

The value they provide to drivers is customer+software.

~~~
samblr
There is a percentage for every transaction till one reaches subscription
price (i.e max that will be paid)

