How Self-Driving Cars Could End Uber

Mega-startup’s greatest threat: the disappearance of car-owning drivers caused by the rise of autonomous vehicles

 All of this is part of what auto makers and ride-hailing companies anticipate will be a larger transition to “transportation-as-a-service”—potentially the end of widespread vehicle ownership in developed countries. Subscribing to such a service for all of a person’s transportation needs within a typical American city could cost anywhere from 10% to 25% what an average consumer now spends on owning, maintaining and insuring a vehicle, says Tony Seba, co-founder of technology think tank RethinkX. Cost savings on that order could lead to rapid adoption akin to the touchscreen smartphone revolution, he argues.
.. Auto manufacturers have a great deal of experience working with the complex web of dealers, financing companies and fleet managers—even car-rental agencies—that could potentially be repurposed to manage millions of self-driving vehicles.Owing to all these factors, Uber, Lyft and their imitators will eventually cease to exist as stand-alone companies, either going out of business or being acquired by car makers