Middlemen are always going to try to increase their take on both sides. It is the only way they can grow the profitability of their business because they can't add more value, they can only subtract.
Agree with the part about profitability, but middlemen can definitely add value.
I’d say that Uber’s wide reach is valuable, the fact that they likely exist in the city you’re visiting, the fact that they likely have enough cars to pick you up in under 5 minutes. These are valuable things that don’t come from individual drivers or small taxi companies, but rather from big aggregators.
Sure, but that dispatch is a "middleman" for the service provider. The bigger that middleman becomes the more they may be able to offer. The dispatcher will take a cut of the taxi fares.
The best ubering I have ever done is in foreign countries. I don't have to speak the language and get significant reduction on tourist prices. Scale provides tremendous value.
Middlemen’s value is usually in their ability to save time for the buyer.
Costco is valuable to me because it saves me time from having to research products and supply chains. I could go to aliexpress.com, but I don’t because I’d rather spend my time in other ways.
If I land in a foreign country, I could spend time researching taxi companies, or I can save time and pay Uber/Lyft a premium if I already trust them.
As a seller, a middleman (or broker) can save me time by discriminating against buyers I don’t want to waste time entertaining.
I’d say that Uber’s wide reach is valuable, the fact that they likely exist in the city you’re visiting, the fact that they likely have enough cars to pick you up in under 5 minutes. These are valuable things that don’t come from individual drivers or small taxi companies, but rather from big aggregators.