to try to create a big business with almost zero capital investment....is clever and can sometimes be achieved
but to try to do it without any liability for harm, accidents, or losses to customers, innocent bystanders, and yes “employees” too...
achieving THAT is extrememly difficult, extremely.
I think causing thousands of untrained and perhaps under-insured drivers to start carrying passengers around on the public roads..when there are so many accidents and injuries out there....has to be seen as a very high-risk endeavor, one that the legislatures and courts especially will not permit to continue on an essentially riskless basis
just my opinion, the business model is flawed (in that it fails to take into full consideration the risk profiles involved and the legal and political environment).
“the business model is flawed (in that it fails to take into full consideration the risk profiles involved and the legal and political environment)”
If someone had asked me if this was a good business model before Uber came out, I would have said it will never work.
But it has worked.
There is always a balance between costs versus safety when it comes to consumer protection.
Uber does a background check on its drivers. It does not do so on the passengers. Just credit card and address information.
They raised a lot of private equity money so far. Those guys tend to have a pretty good idea of whether a business model makes sense or not.