The question should be: for how much longer will people be able to pay a premium?
Yes, there is a market for luxury transport, but is this really a high growth market? How many more young and overpaid software engineers can there be?
Look at the real rate of unemployment, the rise of the part-time labor force, record usage of food stamps, record high student debt, national debt, etc.
Lyft and the kool-aiders claim it's a beautiful new sharing economy, but in truth it's a shitty economy, where people are willing to drive a stranger across the city for 10 bucks, or task-rabbit themselves for a fiver.
My opinion is that there simply aren't enough wealthy folk out there to justify the valuation of these companies.
I think that is why they are hedging their bets by offering yellow taxi service and UberX.
Classic strategy... conquer the premium market first (BMW 3,5 and 7 series) then start going more mainstream (1-Series BMW) once the brand is established and is viewed as prestigious.
Yes, there is a market for luxury transport, but is this really a high growth market? How many more young and overpaid software engineers can there be?
Look at the real rate of unemployment, the rise of the part-time labor force, record usage of food stamps, record high student debt, national debt, etc.
Lyft and the kool-aiders claim it's a beautiful new sharing economy, but in truth it's a shitty economy, where people are willing to drive a stranger across the city for 10 bucks, or task-rabbit themselves for a fiver.
My opinion is that there simply aren't enough wealthy folk out there to justify the valuation of these companies.