Why did House of Saud give Uber $3.5 BILLION??

[midnight rambler]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/02/technology/uber-investment-saudi-arabia.html

[Joshua01]

So what? It will keep excess cars off the streets and reduce their dependency on foreign oil :)

[Cebu_4_2]

So what? It will keep excess cars off the streets and reduce their dependency on foreign oil :)


No there is something deep and shady going on here not just an innocent taxicab setup.

[cheka.]

good catch. the satanists are lining up

Uber has drawn capital from a wide variety of investors, including traditional venture capital firms, mutual fund giants like BlackRock and wealthy clients of firms like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Other sovereign wealth funds, like that of Qatar, have also invested.

[Jewboo]

Uber makes it easier for jews to snatch an organ donor off our streets.

[cheka.]

Uber makes it easier for jews to snatch an organ donor off our streets.

organs have to be plunging in price. the steady palestine supply supplemented with the surge in refugee product

[vacuum]

Remember, 50% of the population in Saudi Arabia isn't allowed to drive. And they aren't supposed to use public transportation either.

It sounds dumb, but it is a real economic issue. The average woman there spends 30% of her income on taxis.

Think about that. The amount of taxis must be insane.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_rights_in_Saudi_Arabia#Mobility

[Glass]

I think most taxi industries have been run as a kind of trust. I'm not sure trust is the right term. They have evolved to become more like cartels. I don't think they are structurally but certainly operationally.

There is a lot of legacy value in Taxis. I don't know what the value is stored in, in the US but in Australia it is in the Taxi License Plate. In the UK it is in the Disk. The license plates trade for significant sums AND the control over the number of plates has been very strict.

There are only a certain number of plates available, hence the high premium. I have noticed over the past 2 decades, various small or incremental moves to eat into this control of the number of plates. Special plates have been issued that had rights to operate in a restricted area such as a sub section of the city. Say the entertainment district and 10 kilometers radius outside that zone. They might have the ability to put down outside that 10Km zone but not pick up, which meant they had to journey back into the zone to pick up again.

Then there are plates limited to operation on specific days only. Friday nights through to Sunday morning for instance.

Uber destroyed that whole control mechanism in one fell swoop. No more need for incremental encroachment. All gone. Done. It's the same as union busting or community banking - GFC and free bailout money for the big banks but not the local ones or health insurance industry consolidation - which is what Obamacare is.

I noticed here, they went after the common law/commercial law aspects - license to do something illegal angle. Which shows up that drivers licenses are not needed for traveling, but lets gloss over that aspect.

So Uber is industry consolidation. I also hear that Uber is being run like Ebay. Drivers get bad reputation and cannot do anything about it, often not even being told they got bad rep. Summary ejection from the system etc. And now drivers have to spruik their fares for positive rep to stay in the job.

I think it's turning out far worse than anyone expected.... for the drivers that is.

[Neuro]

From the article in the OP:

Until now, Saudi Arabia has not been known for venture capital investing, though some members of its royal family have made some deals. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, for instance, has invested in Lyft, a competitor of Uber

As I recall it there is a power struggle in Saudi Thiefdom involving that particular "prince". So maybe that is an explanation why Saudi's criminal highness now invests in Uber... Nothing better to do than try to murder your half brother of a bitch.

[palani]

Puerto Rico had 'publicos' years ago. Private cars. They would gather in town centers and squares with a sign showing their destination. As far as I know they were completely unregulated. I never had the privilege or opportunity to try one. But then I am still surviving too.

[collector]

Uber will be part of the surveilance control grid. Cameras in cabs linked to facial recognition software. All trips can be stored in a computer for future scruitiny

[Neuro]

Uber will be part of the surveilance control grid. Cameras in cabs linked to facial recognition software. All trips can be stored in a computer for future scruitiny

Sure but most people carry their tracking device with them at all times, allready... Without it you can't order an Überdrive! They will know who you are even before you get into the car...

[collector]

Sure but most people carry their tracking device with them at all times, allready... Without it you can't order an Überdrive! They will know who you are even before you get into the car...
I agree but they need the facial recognition software to identify the 2nd or third guest sharing the ride.
When I was in Ecuador, I noticed that the cabs had night vision camera pointing at me. Even the busses were using them to record all passengers. I guess it could be just for security but linked to the software they've developed and are rolling out, it seems like a natural progression

Also, remember the movie "Enemy of the State" - they had multiple tracking systems on Will Smith. Just in case he was able to defeat one r two methods of tracking, the others can be used to confirm his location.
Image NYC - surveilance cameras on every street corner tied into a facial recognition system.
Every cell phone GPS tracking you and recording your conversation.
Any cab ride identifying you and recording your starting point and destination
Every transaction via credit or debit being stored
Total Information Awareness

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