Uber drivers lost their court case for the English tests their drivers are going to have to now pass here in London. This will affect them big time.

https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...ge-test-london

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Is there anything that Uber can do that Dominos couldn't conceivably do already?

Dominos already has lots of cars, a phone app, and a work force.

This industry is so vulnerable to competition. Uber's going to be yesterday's news.

Meh. Decent article, but I think this comment nails it.

Good or bad for Uber?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/t...ties.html?_r=0

The program identified government officials and served them up fake data/canceled their rides.

Basically, Uber went to extraordinary lengths - including going to local electronics store where law enforcement officials bought cheap ohones to avoid Uber's greyball programs, and scouring Facebook for whether a credit card a user used was linked to a city employee - to stop officials from catching Uber rides.

As I said a while ago, Uber is a run with a cult-like fanaticism and attention to detail. They're willing to flout laws and go to extreme lengths to be successful (I previously posted articles about a Scientology-like attempt at silencing and disrupting critics, as well as organizing "grass roots" political campaigns). This is probably good for them as a business, but it's also troubling. Companies that have to act in this way usually don't do so well in the long run, imo.

Strictly speaking, this is entirely legal, so I do not see how it is flaunting the law. But, I do see how it would drive some people bat-**** crazy, "OMG you can't run a company like that!" Grayball will prevent people from getting into taxis that they don't want to. There's nothing like that with the current taxi paradigm. So, this is something innovative Uber has come-up with.

The libertarian in me likes anyone and any company circumventing ******ed laws. However, the value investor in me is not crazy about this strategy. Governments are capricious and rapacious, messing with them is not a good strategy, you will probably lose in the end.

They are operating in areas they are not licensed to operate. They are not only hiding their activity from those charged with enforcing the licensing regulations, they are actively giving those people misinformation. How is this not illegal?

I guess I do not understand. I thought they were just denying rides to authorities. I suppose they are "allegedly" operating in areas they are not licensed to operate.

I'm gambler, not an investor, but I am thinking Dominos might be the value play. They are in a perfect position to take advantage of automation in the next decade, and will take market share from Subway. I'd rather buy a sub online, have it delivered to my house, and I go up and get it, no need to tip, then have to go to Subway. How is Subway actually going to adapt to this change in the market? Also, their online app is pretty killer.

I think the worrying thing is the boots-on-the-ground extent to which this goes. For example, visiting electronics stores to get the IDs of cheap phones recently sold. That's pretty crazy and dedicated. When combined with things like this:

It becomes cult-level crazy.

The question is, if they've organized to do stuff like the above, what else are they willing to do? Do you really believe their corporate espionage stops at this line? There's $70 billion on the line on a business model that may not even be viable (they're losing money hand over fist), and can be impacted by the actions of a handful of state officials.

Just in case you think this is unlikely, have a look at Operation Snow White. Far crazier things have happened.

TS, this is as bad of a non sequitor as your imfamous, chez is modding like Hitler thread, and I plugged the petition to get you unbanned. Uber is not the next Scientology.

I'm not suggesting that Uber is Scientology, nor am I suggesting (in any way) that chez was modding like Hitler. What the hell man.

I'm simply saying that they're on the shady end of corporate slimy dealings and corporate espionage here. They seem willing to do whatever it takes. Is what's reported so far as deep as it goes? Probably not.

That's right, it was the censorship enabling Hitler, but seriously Uber like Scientology?

Research units that dig up personal dirt on public critics in order to silence them is pure Scientology.

The extent to which they're going to avoid government investigation of their actions is pretty weird. Going to mobile phone stores to find the hardware IDs of recently bought cheap phones? Scouring FB based on the credit card names of new users, to see if they're government employees? That doesn't strike you as shady?

This is more what organized crime does, than legitimate businesses. Combined with the rest we hear, it says very worrying things about their corporate culture.

Digging up dirt on public critics is shady, but protecting itself from the government is only shady if you come from a perspective where you believe in the system. If you believe in the system, you believe the government protects your property, and is the best agent capable of doing it. If you do not believe in the system, you tend to think that you are the best agent in defending yourself from the government. I do not see anything morally wrong about using FB to not give rides to government officials for any reason. I certainly don't think you've shown any kind of "cultish devotion" akin to "Scientology", which is just insane hyperbole, which wouldn't even make sense if I had several martinis.

This is of course, a business strategy, essentially competing with the government, that may turn out to be unwise, because the government is the biggest protection agency in town, but it is not in any way immoral. It is not as though Uber is digging up it's own dirt on it's own employees like Scientologists do, which you know, you are kind've out there sometimes with the "connections" you make.

True, just sexually harassing them.

while i think uber itself is a money pit,many shady corporations run very successful business and they're doing far more unethical things than skirting idiotic useless laws.

The difference is of course they are doing it publicly, which will garnish a response.

While I don't 100% agree with the sentiment, this is absolutely going to be an interview question I ask in some form or fashion going forward.

Airbus is joining the game:
https://www.engadget.com/2017/03/08/...g-car-concept/

It makes sense for a profitable company like Airbus to put some money into R&D for ideas like this. It makes zero sense for a company like Uber who is burning through investor capital and would be out of business way before flying cars are a reality at their current rate.

Uber needs to stop thinking about flying cars, they also need to stop thinking about autonomous vehicles. They need to raise prices now as their service is so superior in most markets that people will still gladly play more than they are paying now as their service is so convenient in any market that does not have great cab service, like NYC or the Vegas Strip. They are also paying their drivers so little they don't have much more room for savings even if they had an autonomous fleet, as that would shift a ton of expenses their drivers are currently absorbing (sometimes at a loss) onto the company itself.

The current Uber-model is a sweet-spot they might never see again and they should be milking it for all it is worth instead of burning as much venture capital as possible.

Also recent stories of how their company is run show the company is not running itself very efficiently either. I wish they were public so I could short them.

Shoe,

Why do you think that Uber should move away from SDC? Kalanick has expressed his interest in the subject for years. They've spent a large sum acquiring some of the brightest minds in the field and it is critical to their business plan. (They will have profitable unit economics with SDC and basically no path to it without.)

n00b has explained this over and over, raising costs on rides would have the exact opposite fact you think it would (as shown per the results of decreasing the cost per ride).

Yeah I think we have to defer to Uber's pricing decisions here. They may be wackos, but the people running the company are the opposite of idiots.

https://danielcompton.net/2017/03/14/uber-bombshell