[masterzora]

Gouging may be good for a day (assuming there weren't other good transport options, which is simply untrue in SF), but it sucks as an acquisition method.

My experience with Uber was essentially: (1) "Hey, it sounds great, but that's a bit pricey. It can't really be worth it, can it?" (2) Decided to take someone to dinner via Uber because it was more impressive than a cab. (3) "Hey, this is actually pretty cool and totally worth it." (4) I'm now a repeat customer, even when traveling alone.

In my eyes, the key is that they need to find a step (2) for a more general case. Having a day where there are no cabs might be a small push, but having a day where there are no cabs and Uber is the price you would have paid anyway is absolutely killer.

Short answer: Long-term thinking is better for them than short-term thinking.

[BenSS]

I was going to post nearly the same thing. It may upset the strikers, but it's a brilliant business move by Uber to snag some customers that may not have given it a shot otherwise, and turn them into repeat users.