It seems pretty obvious. Uber is more convenient and it comes directly to your home. People will pay more for that, which is why it probably shouldn’t be so cheap as to make public transit easy to dismiss, especially when that pricing structure encourages more cars on the road with only 1-2 people in them and the negatives that go along with it (more carbon usage, more cars idling in traffic, more road damage, more pollution to inner city dwellers, more danger to pedestrians and cyclists, etc)
So, rather than examining if there are ways to make public transport more convenient, appealing, and competitive, the only solution is to make private transport less appealing?
I didn't say that, but maybe it should be a combination of both. Which is why some cities are partnering with Uber/Lyft to do the last mile part (to the home), but using public transit for the bulk of it.
I do think you really have to question an economic model where Uber/Lyft have clobbered cabs using an unsustainable VC-funded model that will eventually run out and substantially increase cost to the end-user.
I think they're likely profitable in the cities where they've achieved scale. Specifically, I suspect that Uber (and Uber drivers) in the Boston/Cambridge market (where I live) are making a net profit overall.
Drivers who drive full time can afford to pay for the car expenses (variable and fixed). Drivers who drive part time are able to cover the variable costs (and they already had their fixed costs anyway). Uber is probably not losing money in Boston. If all three of those things are true, Uber is sustainable in Boston.
