Maybe some individual companies might go bust, and probably rideshare prices will continue to increase towards typical taxi prices, but there’s no reason at all to think the apps are going anywhere.
I've had poor experiences with Uber/Lyft at airports. Taxis are way better. Sometimes there's not enough luggage space in the car for my luggage, and I won't know that until after I've called them and waited a long time. If I cancel, I end up paying.
(And it's not about me picking a small car - they've got a lot of their personal stuff in the trunk so the capacity is smaller).
Also, plenty of rude Uber/Lyft drivers ("Hey! You were on the wrong side of the road! I could get in trouble for picking you up on the other side of the road!").
We're talking about a single lane each way road, and I went to the other side because I knew he was coming from that direction.
Still, being able to call one via an app is convenient compared to taxis.
That's only because their software lacks the necessary feature (select driver based on imminent arrival at the curb, from a queue of arriving drivers).
Since that feature doesn't seem hard to implement, presumably the underlying reason is regulations to do with airport pickup.
That's a giant leap.
Yes, the wait times aspect is due to airport regulations. Not having enough luggage space is not. It's on Uber/Lyft to allow users to define things like how many suitcases they have so it shows only cars where drivers can commit to that amount of space.
It's just a basic thing if you're a driver and want to serve airport arrivals (or train or bus for that matter).
But rideshare apps are incredibly valuable at airports, especially in less developed countries where getting into the wrong cab at the airport gives you about a 90% chance of getting scammed or robbed, but getting an Uber or Grab from the airport brings that down to almost 0%.
But there's no way to make them profitable as it stands.
All of the services that rideshare apps offer were highly demanded before the apps existed, and they were all delivered at more expensive prices with perfectly decent profit margins.
If VC money stops funding these products, then the prices have to go up to something similar to “traditional” prices for those services, but consumers will still choose to use the apps, because the service they provide will still be substantially better than the traditional service.
Ah, growth, of course. Sure, they lose money on each delivery, but they’ll make it up in volume!
(They’re all over in Toronto)
It’s very possible that they have to pull out of a lot of places, but I think the model can work in the right places