WEBVTT
X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=MPEGTS:900000,LOCAL:00:00:00.000

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BY ERIC NEWCOMER, WHO COVERS
UBER.

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WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON, WHY
SUDDENLY OUR DRIVERS GETTING

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ANGRY?

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>> UBER ROLLED OUT UPFRONT
PRICING.

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THEY SAID YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS,
BUT THE DRIVERS AND THE PUBLIC

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WERE BEING TOLD IT WOULD BE
ROUTED IN THE SAME CALCULATION,

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TIME AND DISTANCE.
WE HAVE LEARNED UBER IS NOW

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DOING SOMETHING ELSE, TIME AND
DISTANCE BUT ALSO A ROUTE

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PROPENSITY TO PAY.
WE WILL RUN EXPERIMENTS TO SEE

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HOW MUCH WE THINK THEY WILL PAY
IN A GIVEN TIME OF DAY.

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THEN UBER POCKETS THE EXTRA
MONEY IT MAKES, SOMETIMES

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REINVESTING INTO DRIVER BONUSES,
INCENTIVES FOR RIDERS, BUT THEY

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MAKE THE NEXT MONEY INSTEAD OF
PASSING ON TO DRIVERS.

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VONNIE: SO AN AGGREGATE IS WHAT
DRIVERS ARE BEING PAID, HAS BEEN

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GONE DOWN, OR HAS IT BEEN
STAGNANT AS UBER HAS BEEN ABLE

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TO GET MARGINAL PENNIES?

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>> IT IS HARD TO GET LONG-TERM
DATA ON DRIVER PAY.

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UBER ARGUES THEY HAVE REMAINED
CONSTANT.

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DRIVERS TEND TO TURN OUT OVER A
YEAR, MANY ARE UNHAPPY WITH THE

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PAY, BUT IT IS HARD TO GET THE
EXACT NUMBERS ON THE PAY.

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IT VARIES BY CITY BY CITY AND
EVEN THE TYPE OF DRIVER.

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VONNIE: AND THERE IS NO TIPPING,
SO YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR

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DRIVER GETS.
HOW DOES UBER DECIDE WHETHER TO

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CHARGE MORE ON A PARTICULAR
ROUTE?

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>> THEY ARE USING MACHINE
LEARNING ALGORITHMS, PREDICTIVE

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TECHNOLOGY TO FIGURE OUT, IF WE
CHARGE MORE FOR UBER X, A LITTLE

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BIT LESS FOR UBER POOL, FROM
HERE TO THERE, IS THAT

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OPTIMIZING OUR INCOME AND USAGE?
THEY ARE RUNNING ALL OF THESE

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EXPERIMENTS TIED TO GEOGRAPHIES
AND TIME OF DAY TO SAY PEOPLE

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TRAVELING FROM DISPLAYS TO THAT
PLACE, HOW MUCH ARE THEY WILLING

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TO PAY?
BASED ON THOSE EXPERIMENTS, SET

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THE PRICE.
VONNIE: HOW IS UBER DOING?

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NOT A PUBLIC COMPANY, SO WE CAN
NEVER REALLY TELL.

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>> WE GOT THEIR FINANCIALS LAST
YEAR, THEY LOST $2.8 BILLION

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LAST YEAR, NOT INCLUDING THE
CHINA BUSINESS WHERE THEY LOST

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ANOTHER BILLION.
$6.5 BILLION IN NET REVENUE.

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THEY ARE LOSING A LOT OF MONEY
BUT THIS IS PART OF THEIR

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STRATEGY TO FIGURE OUT HOW THEY
CAN BUILD A PROFITABLE BUSINESS