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Comment by michaelbuckbee | Hacker News Reader

Not defending the practice (which feels so dishonest) but it's a chicken and the egg thing of their on demand drivers system.

I know there are drivers who basically sit at home and check the current rates and when it's "worth it" to them they walk out and jump in the car and do a few rides.

That wouldn't happen if people were looking in the app seeing no drivers and not putting in that they needed a ride.

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On the other hand, actually having at least one real driver would a) allow that driver to make bank by being basically a monopoly, until b) other real drivers saw this and entered the market making everything kosher.

A monopoly with a TAM of $0 doesn't seem terribly interesting to me

I was under the impression that the drivers had some input into what they would be willing to drive for and competition would do the rest. But if Uber has internal caps, that would make critical mass impossible in smaller towns.

No because Uber's reimbursement for their drivers is so low that most lose money once expenses get factored in. This is because I er looks at drivers as an expense and have consistently cut rates over time.

That is a good point, I was under the impression that the drivers had some input into what they would be willing to drive for and competition would do the rest. But if Uber has internal caps, that would make some small towns just untenable.

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