Uber and Lyft’s new road: Fewer drivers, thrifty riders and jittery investors
I just do not understand how ridesharing cannot turn a profit. Let's look at unit economics:~25% take rate on a ride ($15 average): $3.75 takePayment processing: 2.5% + 30c = $0.68Servers / datacenters: $0.20 (for a margin-sensitive business, you should be colo'ing your own servers, or using cheap alternatives like OVH/Hertzner)Customer support: Automate as much as possible (auto refunds up to a certain point; for lost items, connect directly to driver); assume 1 in 50 rides require manual human support with a $3 cost = $0.06 support cost per rideFraud/refunds: Assume a 2% fraud rate that cannot be reclaimed; thus $0.30 cost for fraud. Refunds for things like driver purposefully took a longer route can be clawed from the driver.Gross COGS: $1.24Gross profit: $2.51What am I missing?? Marketing? Fuck marketing when you can't turn a profit. Everyone knows about Uber or Lyft already, you need to turn a profit, not waste $30 per CAC.