Profit is a percentage of the "time value" relative to the utility of a good or service. If you simply substitute one time input for another, then the profit comes from the good's utility or the service's improvement in process. https://mobile.twitter.com/jbarro/status/1262779753834196993

In other words, there is little to no profit to be derived from someone performing a task for me that they cannot do substantially better than me. How much can someone shop or drive better than another? All profit in those situations comes from process improvements.

An Uber driver and someone driving their own car perform the same task in pretty much the same timeframe, suggesting that profit potential of one performing that task in substitution for another is minimal...

... Any profit is derived by time being saved *and* the"job to be done" having high utility. Eliminate any of those factors and the service offered has minimal profit potential. The value of Uber/Lyft is almost entirely for people who don't own cars at all...

... or don't have access to public transportation. Only under those circumstances can the procurer's "time-value" be monetized as profit. Even then, the "time value" relative to the utility of the task is low. That's why profit for transportation services of all types is low.

The real premium is in going farther faster. But the profit for that is sucked up by the complexity of the machine and the cost of that machine's infrastructure. Travel is an inherently inefficient process and cars seem to be the only way to effectively monetize it.

If you look at the economics of travel, it suggests that *all* travel infrastructure the serves the country should be offered publicly as infrastructure. That means local and city public transportation should be publicly funded. Taxis and ride sharing would be *supplemental*...

... and *luxury* services. National rail *and* airlines should be publicly funded and/or operate at cost naturally. The exceptions would be *international* airlines and cruise ships, which would also provide *luxury* services.

What does all of this mean? Ultimately, that travel is difficult to make profitable because either the "time-value" relative to the utility is low and that the greater the "time-value" relative to the utility of the travel is, any profit will be absorbed...

... by the vehicle performing the task and its associated infrastructure. Star Trek solved that issue with "transporters." IRL, I don't think physics is on our side.

This thread also makes the case for VR as it is the closest thing to a "transporter" that our current understanding of physics allows.

May have to write a post about this.

The previous thread also explains why @Tesla charges an extra 10K for its "autonomy" features. If they don't kill you, they are well worth the money if you use them regularly.