Free Now Gone to Shite?

[markmiwurdz]

To be fair, Free Now increased it's market share by 19% according to it's own figures with the original Taxi Saver scheme. I'm not sure why they restructured it to cut the VATman in but hey ho. I haven't experienced any significant loss on Ubers fixed fares. In fact across the 22 fixed fares I've covered my contribution to the discounts received by clients is less than 1%.

Until the screw gets turned...

[Rat Catcher]

Indeed. None of them are going to run at a loss forever.

[watty]

It took Uber USA ~15 years before they made a paper profit...  Having a $30B loss on the books is good for not paying tax but the shareholders will want a return on their investment and we'll pay for it 

Google AI:

Uber operated at a loss for approximately 14 to 15 years, from its founding in 2009–2010 until achieving its first full-year operating profit in 2023. The company accumulated over $30 billion in operating losses since 2014, with a significant turnaround occurring after sustained, heavy spending on market share expansion.

Key details of Uber's journey to profitability:

Initial Losses: Uber consistently operated at a deep loss after its 2009 inception, accumulating roughly $31.5 billion in operating losses from 2014 through early 2023.

Path to Profit: While quarterly operating profits were reported as early as August 2023, the company did not achieve its first annual net profit until the end of 2023, recording $1.89 billion for that year.

Key Drivers: The turnaround was largely driven by growth in both ride-hailing and delivery services, along with cost-cutting measures.

Comparison: Uber's decade-plus, multi-billion dollar loss-making streak was a common, yet extreme, example of "growth at all costs" strategies among Silicon Valley technology firms.

[Bob Shillin]

Yank smartasses love "disrupting".

[Octavia1]

Ive made  80 quid for 3 days .... goin cancel the rolex  for me 60th birthday an buy a casio


Poor cnut


 

[Rat Catcher]

Expensive disruption! There's no appetite among drivers to delete the app. That might change when they move beyond the "sustained, heavy spending on market share expansion" phase but for now drivers seem to be happy to take their coin which, I guess, is understandable.

In the meantime it'll be interesting to see what DoT/NTA might come up with to keep them in check. Making the current temporary moratorium on the issue of saloon taxi and hackney plates permanent combined with a cap on freight/commission would be the way to go, IMO. Beyond that a ban on below cost selling and a cap on, or abolition of, technology/surge fees might be desirable.

[Bob Shillin]

"There's no appetite among drivers to delete the app",
Sounds like criticism or blaming. The majority of drivers' appetites are for food on the table, and app dominance of the trade leaves them no option if they wish to eat. Some criticism could be reserved for a section of drivers who, because of their advancing years, diminshed living expenses, and possibly multiple household incomes, yet still choose to support the more "client can't lose" disruptive elements of the US corporate apps, i.e. fixed fare pricing.

[Rat Catcher]

I'm not criticising anyone. Drivers making hay while the sun shines is perfectly logical. Derek got a decent campaign going and, yes, I was hopeful that he might have attracted more support, particularly from the other drivers unions but as much as Derek might sing and dance, money talks. I've no problem with fixed fares. The taximeter is a relatively new introduction to the trade where I work and north county folk do like to know what a taxi is going to cost hence they are more likely to use taxis with that information up front. Uber's current rates are set as close to the meter as makes no difference in my experience.

I know your preference is to pay higher commission to enable the various platforms compete on price. That, to me, makes no sense simply because the VATman gets a significant cut of what drivers pay. However, I suspect that is the model they will all follow as and when they want profit. Interestingly, they focus driver earnings data on fares after commission whereas fares before commission, being the higher numbers, would be logical point of focus. The reason for that is that commission will be the variable with rates set dynamically in the fullness of time.

[Octavia1]

"There's no appetite among drivers to delete the app",
Sounds like criticism or blaming. The majority of drivers' appetites are for food on the table, and app dominance of the trade leaves them no option if they wish to eat. Some criticism could be reserved for a section of drivers who, because of their advancing years, diminshed living expenses, and possibly multiple household incomes, yet still choose to support the more "client can't lose" disruptive elements of the US corporate apps, i.e. fixed fare pricing.

Yur wastin yur time talkin to em bob .... only time an an empty bank account will wake em up .....

 that reminds me ...... its nap time


 

[silverbullet]

"There's no appetite among drivers to delete the app",
Sounds like criticism or blaming. The majority of drivers' appetites are for food on the table, and app dominance of the trade leaves them no option if they wish to eat. Some criticism could be reserved for a section of drivers who, because of their advancing years, diminshed living expenses, and possibly multiple household incomes, yet still choose to support the more "client can't lose" disruptive elements of the US corporate apps, i.e. fixed fare pricing.

Yur wastin yur time talkin to em bob .... only time an an empty bank account will wake em up .....

 that reminds me ...... its nap time


 

I'm finding that working from night-time ranks it yields nice cash and card work. The waiting time can be a bit longer, but you're not waiting a week or more - less 15+% - for your wages.