If Uber can’t turn a profit then how did cab companies (essentially Uber but with a worse product, no software efficiencies, and bad UX) turn a profit for over a century?
Even if you subscribe to this belief that somehow artificial conditions allow for taxis to exist, you have to start wondering maybe they have a good reason to exist since taxis are pretty much universally available everywhere you go. Even in their previous crappy form, they were ubiquitous like cockroaches. If literally every city in the world adopted this form of regulatory capture, maybe Uber et al can benefit from the same thing, except with a better non-cockroach like UX.
There is also good kind of regulatory capture. Like controlling supply ofc, annoying during night when bars closes, but also on other hand ensuring that someone is there to provide service at night during weekday. Or even capping the prices. And then having enforcement by cancelling licenses if proven wrongdoings where to happen.
System could function... And it did in some countries, apart from supply issues at most popular times. It was bit expensive, but driver's time or vehicles aren't cheap in expensive to live countries...
