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Fair points but let me add a few things to consider as well:

"Uber operating at huge losses... service worse and worse." I don't agree here, the service is much better than before. Even with the introduction of uberpool, the service has stayed nearly the same for me in NY, and especially here in SF, while the cost has cut over 50% or more. If you follow Uber closely you can see they're investing into the company to continue to grow. You can see them experimenting with new products and services. UberEATS [1] (leveraging the same tech and driver network), San Francisco flat rate subscriptions [2], and self-driving cars [3]. Lyft and other competitors are followers at this point and are trying to compete by burning capital on huge ad-buys. Uber is significantly ahead.

"No longer door to door." This is to better connect both parties in the pickup and drop off. I've been using this non-stop in SF, it's more efficient and safe for the rider. It's also safer for the driver and helps them avoid getting tickets that ruin a driver's week.

"Feeling like a baller." There are still other products for these if you want privacy and better service. If your driver isn't giving you the expected service you can rate them accordingly.

"General quality has been declining." This shouldn't be the case. Uber has strict vehicle requirements in all cities that drivers must follow. Uber also connect drivers to fleet partners, rental partners and new and pre-owned vehicles during the signup…

> Do more drivers lead to shorter pick-up times or more drivers without a passenger.

That's an interesting question. I think in this case it's shorter pick-up times because the system can somewhat self-correct in real-time:

1) If a someone is thinking about going out and driving, they check the app, see that there are lots of drivers out and not many passengers, so they might decide not to go out at that moment.

2) If there are too many requests and not enough drivers, Uber increases surge pricing. The greater the increase, the more drivers come out and the more requests get withdrawn until an equilibrium is reestablished.

Finally, there's some data at https://newsroom.uber.com/uber-expectations-as-we-grow/ that shows that the longer Uber is in a city, the more pick-up times drop and passengers expect shorter pick-up times.

I agree with you about food companies: at some point they might become competitive with Uber, or they might outsource logistics to Uber while they handle the food ordering and preparation aspects.

Right, and on Sunday he followed up by unambiguously calling the ban "wrong and unjust".[1] Which was also a fumble because it sounded like a reaction to the blowback.

Also interesting: Uber pledged $3M to help drivers right now. Lyft pledged just $250K/year.. to the ACLU (annual budget: $133M). But Uber lost that one too. People want war with Trump, not diplomacy.

As for turning off surge pricing, clearly it was after the strike and meant to reduce customer complaints about surge pricing after exceptional events. But it also means they were "effectively undercutting taxi drivers as they returned to work after protesting."[2] Another "Doh!" moment for Uber.

[1] https://newsroom.uber.com/standing-up-for-the-driver-community/

[2] https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/01/lyft-and-ubers-immigration-ban/514889/

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My team is hiring two senior, standalone mobile engineers (iOS, Android) for Uber Beacon (https://newsroom.uber.com/beacon/) a BLE hardware device that functions together with the rider and driver apps. The ideal applicant would have extensive consumer-facing mobile experience, as well as experience with Bluetooth-enabled devices. Unfortunately this position is only for senior engineers with at least 2-4 years of experience.

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These are permits for Autonomous vehicles. Uber couldn't legitimately abide by a permit as they would need to confirm that the "autonomous vehicle is operated for testing purposes only"... and they want to use it as part of their business model straight away.

Without looking into the specific legislation, on the surface it looks like a reasonable interpretation.

All of the references from Uber state they are doing "self-driving".. which isn't IMHO Autonomous, as it is only Level 3.
https://newsroom.uber.com/pittsburgh-self-driving-uber/

I'd expect Uber to obtain a license when they are ready to move towards driverless autonomous development, such as Level 4/5.