I wouldn't say it was a waste of time, TD... but, as noted before attending, there wasn't really anything said that couldn't have been dealt with online although you do, arguably, get a better idea of their underlying views in general terms from face to face contact. It was interesting to learn how they view DAA, they'd probably have to be more diplomatic on paper in that case and I got the impression that their approach to covering increased demand going forward doesn't need to create as much conflict with drivers as I might have thought.
To expand on the latter, it's useful to consider Gett's approach - ignoring the fact that Gett has yet to launch in Dublin. In Russia, in particular, Gett has encouraged new entrants with finance deals on Polos, Rapids and Octavias. The underlying difference between Daimler's approach to rideshare and VWs approach is that VW isn't just interested in harvesting data for future projects it wants a shorter term return from selling cars to the hundreds of thousands of (potential) car owners that use the driver apps. The same can be said of other manufacturers with Toyota's interest in Uber probably being the most prominent example. As far as our market is concerned Daimler would have to heavily discount it's motors to make them attractive to existing drivers or new entrants hence mytaxi is more open to promoting better utilisation of the existing fleet perhaps through the reintroduction of Cosies. Of course this approach sits well with the underlying principles of rideshare/car sharing/etc.
Better the devil you know?