Loss spotlights viability

Uber has been a total game-changer for the passenger, especially in an environment like SA, which wasn’t exactly overflowing with convenient transport options before the app came along. In other markets the entrenched cab operators have reacted furiously to the upstart that is busily disrupting the living daylights out of their comfortably protected existence. But anecdotal evidence suggests that Uber’s own drivers are also a long way from being gruntled at the number of drivers taken on and their ever shrinking slice of the fare.

However, the real question that remains to be answered is whether Uber can start to stand on its own two feet without relying on the generosity of investors, which have been ladling great bundles of loot into the business, enabling it to maintain losses on an eye-rolling scale. The company lost over $1bn in the last quarter as it continues to finance its epic land-grab, but this can’t be sustained forever, and there must come an inflection point when it or its investors decide that enough is enough and it’s time to see a return.

Unless it is precipitated by a real technological leap such as fully functioning driverless cars, this will involve a significant leap in pricing, and there is no clarity as to how this will affect the punters who are currently enjoying a remarkable bargain.

It is looking to expand in areas such as freight hauling, food delivery and electric bikes and scooters, as well as to solidify its position in highpotential markets such as India and the Middle East, but its future as a viable business remains opaque.