“The ride sharing companies are going to need depots to fuel, clean and do maintenance on the cars. That all requires expensive infrastructure and people to do it.”
Using the current model, consumers still may own the cars but will share them when they are otherwise preoccupied with work, sleep, eating, etc.
So, for example, if I owned a Tesla, I might go meet friends for lunch. While I am eating, the car might go pick a ride share customer up nearby, drop the customer off, and return to where I’m eating. I can make money with my car by allowing others to share it. But it is still mine (and not a business expense for Uber) to fuel, clean, and maintain.
Or Tesla may offer the ride sharing service rather than Uber. Or maybe there are several, and I pick the one that gives me the better cut.
The money is automatically transferred to my account. Presto. I just paid for my lunch.
“And with no supervision in the car, I suspect there would be considerable more cleaning envolved”
Probably will require cameras monitoring the ones using it. Or maybe there is an inspection process upon return like with rental car companies. Or both. The review system seems to help keep the average passenger (and driver) in check right now. Too many bad reviews, you get booted from the system.
This model will probably cut the cost of using ride sharing services by 50%. It will probably become cheaper and more convenient for the average consumer to just use these services rather than owning vehicles.
At some point, companies may raise the capital to own and maintain the vehicles. That won’t be too hard when it is profitable to do so. The current model dumps the cost of maintenance and depreciation on the driver / owner. The ride sharing companies are better off not owning them for now.
Guess I am behind the times, there are companies that do that now like Getaround. That it not something I am willing to do, but I guess others are.
Other than the car driving itself, there's nothing that prevents anyone from doing this right now. Uber can have drivers sitting in Starbucks and McDonald's locations all over the country, just waiting for someone to park at the restaurant next door for lunch. Or an even more feasible scenario would be an Uber driver "borrowing" your car while you're sleeping at night ... to pick passengers up at airports and pick drunks up at bars. But nobody even thinks of doing this sort of thing with their cars, because nobody likes the thought of strangers occupying a vehicle.
And even if you might be inclined to pursue this sort of financial opportunity, I can guarantee you that the first time your car came back with a scratch on the door or a snot on the steering wheel would be the last time you ever let a stranger into it.
And then you sit down in the puddle of barf left by the passenger who paid $5 to get home from the bar.