[kornish]

> Of the $11.4 billion in net revenue the company generated in 2018, $3 billion came in the last three months of the year, up only 2 percent from the previous quarter.

To what degree does Uber's main business have seasonality? Are people going more places when it's nicer out in the Northern hemisphere?

[standardUser]

Here in SF, I notice surge pricing is at it's worst when it's cold or raining. Bad weather seems to compel people to order a car instead of walking or dealing with public transit. I know it does for me.

[bunderbunder]

I'd expect it to be positively correlated with nice weather in tourist destinations, because more people would be in town at all. I'd expect it to be inversely correlated in major urban centers, because the number of people needing to get around will have less seasonal variability, and walking, waiting for a bus and riding a bike are all relatively more attractive options when it's not gross outside.

[moorhosj]

Pretty big overlap between tourist destinations and urban centers.

[bunderbunder]

There is, but, percentage-wise, the seasonal swing to the number of people in town is much bigger for Traverse City, MI than it is for New York, NY.

[moorhosj]

The discussion was about Uber's overall revenue. I imagine a far larger percent of their revenue comes from NYC tourists than Traverse City tourists. Traverse City gets about 3.5 million tourists a year [1] compared to 63 million for NYC [2].

[1] https://www.record-eagle.com/news/local_news/tourism-region-...

[2] https://nycfuture.org/research/destination-new-york

[goobynight]

People go more places, but they're more likely to walk.

This is if my two options are walking or staying dry/warm in a car.

[throwaway-1283]

The biggest days are going to be holidays...NYE and Halloween are probably #1/#2.

[goobynight]

I'm not sure any one day is super important, but I honestly just don't know.

Is 1 or 2 spikes in a season that lasts months going to carry you, especially when supply is limited?

[minimaxir]

Many industries (e.g. shopping) strongly depend on the seasonality spikes.

[vishnugupta]

> Are people going more places when it's nicer out in the Northern hemisphere?

Every winter India witnesses a massive influx of westerns to its popular beach holiday locations of India (Goa, Pondicherry, etc.,). Similarly to the hill-stations of north India during summer.