Uber's Moat and Profitability

The moment uber stops subsidizing their rides a million competitors will come out of the woodwork with a comparable app. its not the app thats unbeatable its their vc money, you cannot have 10 multi-billion dollar unicorn taxi providing companies existing at once.

Drivers are not exclusive to uber, no? There is no moat in this industry, and its going to face inevitability when it runs out of money.

Uber is a transportation marketplace. If they’re successful in cornering the market all transportation is arranged through them but they employ zero drivers, and therefore would be wildly profitable. That’s why they’re all about market share at any cost.

Seems like part of uber's moat is the driver network -- having drivers available everywhere.But at least that part of the moat disappears when you no longer need drivers.

1. The regulations that Uber skirted around and then loosened up to provide more drivers can also be used by other companies. The gates are open, but not only to Uber.2. Drivers and customers are fickle. My market used to be mostly Uber and is now mostly Lyft because all the drivers hate Uber. When Uber and Lyft run out of cash to blow on subsidies, they don't really have much of a selling point.The problem with Uber's business model is that the main cost is the driver, who is no

There might be more options if Uber hadn't used its wealth to drive them out of business.

Why did they lose to Uber and Lyft?

> no VC will fund their rapid growth (small offerings will still find a niche, assuming they don't get gobbled upAnd yet Grab and Didi drove Uber out of South East Asia and China, Ola is giving Uber a run for its money in India and now GoJek in turn is challenging Grab. In my recent trip to Tokyo we were mostly advised to take regular cabs Vs Uber in contrast to a year ago. That's literally half the world where they're getting out competed.When reasoning doesn't line

I'm part of the problem. I always suspected my Uber ride was financed with venture money. So i always went with Uber. But i didn't think ahead to the fact that it would kill off the competition.What i don't get it is what the Uber moat is? Why does this need to be centrally planned and controlled? Would an open source and free platform work where drivers got near 100 percent of the sale instead of the 75% they get today.

You are making the incorrect assumption that a company has to try to compete with Uber everywhere all at once. They don't. Once Uber raises prices to the point where they make a profit, cabs will just come back and undercut them - because they will have less expenses (they don't have to support a massive organization and shareholders). This will happen independently in every city.