[dilyevsky]

How is undercutting the driver (that already don’t get paid shit) going to reap massive profits? Also think about what it takes for uber to start in new city (literally a guy with a phone in a motel) vs self driving company =)

[asdff]

I've never understood why the model isn't for self driving public buses. This should be the primary focus. More riders in one vehicle lowers costs for running the service itself as well as greatly cheapening wide area coverage abilities.

We all love the on-demand, single rider model that Lyft pioneered, but it also isn't sustainable with traffic demands increasing every year with population. Machine learning and productive partnerships with city traffic officials will ensure buses are routed on sensible routes that could be changed with demand without inconveniencing riders. Strictly protected bus lanes would also simplify the programming needed to maneuver a self driving vehicle through traffic.

[hindsightRegret]

Removing one driver from a bus which can carry 30-60 people is less cost cutting than removing one driver for 1-4 passengers for a private/pooled ride. Companies don't attack problems from a societal benefit-analysis standpoint, they attack them from a profit standpoint.

[function_seven]

The driver gets about half to 3/4 of the fare. So on a hypothetical $10 trip, Uber is getting between $2.50 and $5.00 of that.

Google can price a similar trip at $7, saving the rider $3 and boosting the revenue by $2 to $4.50.

[wnissen]

The driver grosses that much, but has to cover gas and the cost of the car itself out of their share. The actual amount the driver keeps appears to be on the order of $10 an hour, so I doubt we'll see very cheap rides any time soon.

[dilyevsky]

Yeah but they are now on the hook for car maintenance, charging (or gas), parking etc etc

[l4yao]

I imagine those details work out to be cheaper per vehicle for a company with a large fleet of nearly identical vehicles and a dedicated operations team.