> Piece by piece, the mythology around ridesharing is falling apart. Uber and Lyft promised ubiquitous self-driving cars by as soon as this year. They promised an end to private car ownership. They promised to reduce congestion in the largest cities. They promised consistently affordable rides. They promised to boost public transit use. They promised profitable business models. They promised a surfeit of well-paying jobs. Heck, they even promised flying cars.<p>What other company needs to justify its existence this much besides "our customers find us useful"? I know Uber and Lyft has made my life better, otherwise I wouldn't have used them. I imagine the same is true for the millions that have used their product.<p>Let's be honest what attacks on ride sharing is about. It's the remnants of grievances regional taxi companies had over facing competition. And it was strangely picked up by large newspapers. I'm old enough to remember taxi cartels pre-Uber. I remember being unable to find a taxi in a bad neighborhood, or going to a less populated area or when its raining. I remember the inefficient routes, the dangerous unaccountable driving, the "broken" credit card machines. Others remember not being able to get a cab because their skin is the wrong color or not being able to drive a cab without renting out a medallion from a medallion hoarder or having to take a second mortgage out on their house to afford a medallion.<p>Taxis existed since the invent of cars. I don't see why an app to book taxi rides should draw such scrutiny.
Ride sharing’s empty promises can be chalked up to corporate PR… I don’t imagine most riders or investors consider those when calling a car or investing.<p>Wrt the measurable externalities (traffic, pollution, etc) - don’t these exist due to the stronger data capture (app based) and public scrutiny? I have a difficult time believing Uber/Lyft are worse on these metrics relative to traditional taxis
lol Uber stock at $48, still well above the IPO. Journalists have been calling for the demise of Uber forever. They need to find a new hobby. Forecasting is not for them.