[aneisf]

I think UberX has the potential to become bigger than the taxi market. In the vast majority of American cities, especially in smaller ones, taxis are not readily available and are just too expensive for getting across a suburban sprawl.

The main Uber service depends on the existing market to some extent but I think it also has the potential to grow it.

[efuquen]

> In the vast majority of American cities, especially in smaller ones, taxis are not readily available and are just too expensive for getting across a suburban sprawl.

There is a good reason for that, it's so much easier to own a car in these and is pretty much mandatory to get anything done. Cars + Gas are still relatively cheap in comparison to paying someone to come out and drive you around anytime you need to go somewhere, which is compounded in the suburbs by the distance and time involved and the area any taxi service would need to cover.

Sure, technology ala Uber helps here, but does this really change the fundamentals in theses areas? I don't think so, you still need to pay a driver and in areas where its easy and cheap to store a car it would make much more financial sense to just drive yourself around.

Driverless cars are really the fundamental shift that might change this, but let's be real that is still a risky venture, despite all the Google hype people are drooling over. This large of an evaluation only makes sense with that in mind.