The number was based on a misunderstanding of Uber's revenue numbers. The 41% was based on using the number for Uber's cut and thinking it was total fares.
When you look at all the money going through Uber, fares make up 79% of expenses for that accounting period. But that's not the right number either. A lot of those expenses are other departments in the company. So fares are paying for more than 80% of combined driver costs, infrastructure, and marketing. Possibly quite a bit more. And that number includes all the cities where they are burning money to expand.
I don't know if fares are greater than costs in established cities, but I would not at all be surprised if they were.
When you look at all the money going through Uber, fares make up 79% of expenses for that accounting period. But that's not the right number either. A lot of those expenses are other departments in the company. So fares are paying for more than 80% of combined driver costs, infrastructure, and marketing. Possibly quite a bit more. And that number includes all the cities where they are burning money to expand.
I don't know if fares are greater than costs in established cities, but I would not at all be surprised if they were.