By Faiz Siddiqui Faiz Siddiqui Local reporter covering the D.C. Metro, Uber and Lyft, and transit-oriented tech start-ups Email Bio Follow March 20 at 2:24 PM Lyft is due to be the first giant tech startup to list its shares on the stock market this year -- and it has laid out all the roadblocks that could derail not only its own business, but the ridesharing industry itself.
Lyft and Uber both have placed their bets on a driverless future, pouring millions into research and development for autonomous systems that could be less costly than splitting fares with drivers. But they’re also competing with other Silicon Valley giants, such as Waymo, which belongs to Google’s parent company Alphabet, and Detroit-based automakers to be the first to launch autonomous ride-hail services.
Uber made a similar bet on urban mobility last year, acquiring e-bike startup JUMP in a deal valued at nearly $200 million, according to TechCrunch. Dockless scooter companies Bird and Lime have taken cities by storm in the past year, and Uber and Alphabet both invested in Lime. Automaker Ford made its own push into the dockless scooter market by purchasing Spin late last year.
In its disclosure, Lyft outlined upwards of 70 potential downsides for investors related to its business and the ride-hailing market, laying bare the uncertainty facing one of the most anticipated public offerings in years. Perhaps its rapid expansion into bikes and scooters could backfire if those modes fail to create a sustainable market, causing the company’s growth to stall. Or self-driving cars might not take off as anticipated.
Autonomous cars are coming, both taxi and ride sharing will be gone
In many parts of the US, buying a taxi medallion is way too expensive. This must change. That said, the taxi industry's regulated and the drivers must have proper training. More taxis are needed and the unregulated rideshares must be banned. The British cabbies are the best.
I've always considered ridesharing the equivalent of unlicensed hacktaxis and never understood how they weren't shut down in the beginning, other than overwhelming popularity intimidated regulators
Pay is too low for drivers to justify the wear and tear on their cars.
Let it fail!