[supperburg]

> If that’s all you are doing, then yeah, that’s probably not profitable because competition would just eat your margins.

So markets don’t exist? Businesses can’t exist in a market? This is economics 101. No wonder everyone is so off

[ModernMech]

No, that's not what I said. My point is explicitly that markets do exist, and that markets are the mechanism by which Uber will find itself unprofitable, because they aren't adding enough value to the equation. Having the app and the scheduling algorithm was a game changer a decade ago, but now that part of the business has been effectively commoditized.

But Uber doesn't want to be 1 of 1000 taxi players in a crowded market with no margins. They want to be taxi king of the world. How do they stay on top when every local municipality can hire some college kids to make a close facsimile to what Uber does? Sure maybe it's not as good as the Uber offering, but they don't have to support a global taxi empire, so they can offer their service for a lot less than Uber can. If that app takes hold in city X, why are people going to use Uber when they come to town 30% more expensive than your small town provider?