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Uber Rival Lyft Raises $530M, Will Beef Up IT
jfruh writes "Uber may seem like an unstoppable juggernaut, but its main carhailing service rival Lyft isn't giving up. The company just raised half a billion dollars in funding, much of it from Japanese investors. From the article: "Lyft has raised US$530 million in its latest funding round, and plans to use the money to beef up its IT staff, expand its footprint and boost existing services. Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten led the round. With the latest cash infusion, Lyft has raised a total of $862 million from investors. The ride-hailing company is now reportedly valued at $2.5 billion."
I can't see that these companies can be so valuable.
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Rakuten has a ridiculous amount of cash and tries to secure it's future by betting it's money on a wide range of investments.
One would expect the Rakuten empire to collapse with that horrendous site where it is freaking impossible for humans to find
even the most simplest products without being burried under a sh#tpile of sponsored product listings or a milliongazillion times that same product.
Not even to mention the avalanche of email you will be receiving which it is almost impossible to opt out from if you just happen to buy something silly like pencil.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T...
HQ in France, tentacles all over the place. Taxis, limos, buses, light rail, catamaran ferries, etc. When this bunch starts noticing Uber, all we can hope is that they give Uber a dignified burial service.
what
should say "from Japan"
I dont know about you but i believe these kind of companies will give us a dystopian future.
We might hear about Uber drivers making a good wage atm, but thats only because Uber is so new and there arent much competition. Just wait until several companies are offering ride sharing, and trying to compete on price. The drivers will work for dirt cheap wages with no security whatsoever. Just wait until these kind of companies move to other areas of work. You will never know if you get paid the next day, you will never know how much you get paid, but you can be sure that it will be low waged and if you get sick you are screwed. It really doesnt seem like a good future.
Unless its stopped, we will experience much lower quality of working conditions because you aren't hired by anyone. you are merely a low waged contractor.
> much of it form Japanese investors
I don't understand.
We just barely avoided a hamburger shortage after the last time the giant cow smashing machine got all beefed up.
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530 million will buy a lot of pink mustaches...
I try to use Lyft over Uber whenever possible, but in the past few months I've gotten "our system is down" messages nearly every time of day or night. Their IT department could use the boost!
I went to eat some animal crackers and the box said, "Do not eat if seal is broken." I opened the box and sure enough..
DOST THOU EVEN LYFT?
I can't say whether they're overvalued, but there's definite growth potential beyond where they are now.
For example, how many municipalities in areas that they cover have "dial-a-ride" transport for seniors/handicapped? Could Lyft/Uber serve as a cross-municipality contractor for those, providing the same or better service at lower cost? Adding some specialized (e.g. wheelchair-capable) vehicles, plus being able to use their existing set of drivers where appropriate could lower municipality costs while giving better on-demand service to residents.
fencepost
just a little off
I just finished a week of Lyft driving and learned a few things:
-I made $19.60 an hour for the time I was driving. That isn't bad, but compared to my day job, not really worth it (especially after I add in a few things below). Glad I'm at a place in my life I can make that claim.
-When I used the IRS figure of 57.5 cents/mile for the cost of driving, it worked out that I made $2.65 one night. Yes I can apply the mileage figure against my taxes, but Lyft only records the miles you drive when you have a fare, not when you are going to pick up a fare. Unless you keep pretty good records yourself, I imagine that drivers just eat the wear and tear cost, and don't really compare it to their earnings.
-Speaking of the IRS, if folks are doing this as a full time job, come tax day they are going to get a nasty surprise. As a 1099 employee, you are responsible for paying both the individual and the employer half of Social Security/Medicare, plus your 'normal' taxes
-Further tax fun: as a 1099 employee, you are supposed to pay those taxes on a quarterly basis, and then square up with Uncle Sam at the end of the year.
-None of the pages on Lyft of Uber mention any detailed tax information like this. I imagine there is more that I don't even know about. I bet that means that a large number of drivers will be hit with penalties for not reporting correctly (or at all)
-As a 'I'll drive 2 people around to make enough money to spend at the bar tonight", it works. As a "I'll drive until I can make my tuition/rent/food/car payments" it utterly fails
Still, it was fun - It is the exact opposite of the introverted/solo programming that I do as a day job. Met some fun people, had some nice conversations, and was exposed to ideas/people that I don't on a normal basis.