One of the main costs is labor. Another is fuel. Get rid of labor and if fuel gets cheaper (I assume electricity, because it can come from more sources than gas, will get cheaper over time), then I assume these services will be cheaper. Plus, car ownership is not that cheap either.
Car ownership is a lot cheaper than Uber. It’s not even a question. You could buy an overpriced car that you can’t afford with a high interest rate and it would still be much cheaper. I think you need to go back to first principles on this one.
> Car ownership is a lot cheaper than Uber. It’s not even a question.
Well, yes it is.
Cars are expensive: lease ($200+/month), maintenance ($100/mo), gas ($50/mo), insurance ($120/month), garage ($200/month). WAG of $670/month. That's 15 to 40 short-ish Uber rides/month.
Commute an hour each way every day, and have free parking? Buy that car. Have it available for occasional trips to the grocery store? Uber is almost certainly cheaper. And, if autonomous taxis become real then the price will go down even further.
Leasing a car is the most expensive way to own a car (short of buying a new one every 3 years). Of course if you're paying $200/mo. for parking you can probably afford it. In much of the country parking is indirectly subsidized with zoning laws.
This is all moot because, if driving places gets cheaper, traffic will get worse, which was the original point.
What? Your math is still not working out. Are you one of the lucky that have $1 Uber rides or something? 40 rides? You make 40 trips a month? Really? Try more like $40 a day just to start and that’s with no kids. At some point we have to talk about reality if we are making claims. Also, once you pay a car off (perhaps you buy it with cash), how does this math to continue to work out?
Car ownership may be cheaper based on where one lives. One lives in a rural area and commutes everyday to a suburb where parking is free? Probably much cheaper than taking an Uber. Live in a city where parking is $40 per day and a parking space at an apartment is $500/month and work from home? Uber may be significantly cheaper than owning a car.
If we go to first principles, I think what would matter the most is at least how often someone uses a car, how one uses it, and where one lives, to determine whether ownership or renting (Uber is just very short-term rental with a driver included, no?) is cheaper in total cost.
