It’s a funny point. After only taking Ubers and Lyfts all my adult life (young), I have recently switched to cabs because they are cheaper in my city (and I tell everyone I know to do the same). They have dominance now but if I had to guess whether cabs or Uber will still exist in 100 years… I know which I would bet on.
Cabs are an idea. Uber is a company. I can't think of any company that I'd predict to last 100 years. Even Google and Apple probably won't last 100 years. I honestly wouldn't even bet on cars being a dominant form of transportation in 100 years.
> Even Google and Apple probably won't last 100 years.
I'm not sure, there are 100+ yo companies like Kodak, Nikon, IBM, Panasonic, GSK, Merck, etc. With that in mind, it's not hard for me to imagine that some of the tech giants will also have a presence in hundred years, maybe not as dominant as today, but they could survive.
Never underestimate the allure of status symbols. For the longest time I thought the same thing of the iPhone. Why would people spend so much when they can get Android for considerably cheaper ? It's the status stupid. Of course, now they are ubiquitious and no longer really much of a status symbol, but if you go back a decade, you'll know what I'm talking about. The same will happen with VR as the tech improves and prices drop a bit.
They aren't that ubiquitous in the UK/Europe or Asia. I've never used an iPhone. I'm not sure of the market share figures but I'd guess it's about 50/50. Similarly with Mac laptops you get the impression that everyone buys apple, but it's really not the case and it's probably more like 75% windows at a guess.
Uber's surge pricing is dumb in places where they're competing with traditional taxi ranks. I usually pay $35-$45 for an Uber to/from the airport, but if a couple of flights land at once, suddenly Uber is $85+ and the taxis are only $55.
The point of surge pricing is to rebalance supply and demand when demand for rides outstrips supply of drivers, whether by attracting more drivers or by discouraging price sensitive riders.
Some riders at the airport will strongly prefer Uber, for whatever reason, so they're less price sensitive than you. Because you're happy to substitute an Uber for a taxi, you decrease the demand as a response to the surge pricing, preserving the limited supply of drivers for the riders who really want them (or are at least are price insensitive enough to pay for that privilege).
