Uber plans a change in strategy
Three weeks after its disappointing public debut, Uber posted a $1 billion quarterly loss in its first report as a public company. The ride-hail giant promised investors that it would cut back on customer promotions and focus more on products. Some analysts have long bet that self-driving vehicles will one day help companies like Uber turn profits around, but new research from MIT suggests they won’t— unless dramatic algorithmic improvements make them more efficient.
Retired Retail Field Manager
This is a horribly broken business model. The average fare is $2.00 per mile. Drivers keep only 83 cents, but must bare the entire 60.8 cents per mile average cost of owning and operating their vehicles, leaving drivers 22.2 cents per mile for their labor. Uber, on the other hand, keeps $1.17 per mile for little else than back end support, yet they are burning cash at a rate of over $3 billion/yr? Driver labor costs aren't their problem. Their back end costs can only be assumed to be outrageous and out of control. They need to fix the back end then worry about driverless cars which are many years away.