> That is a problem, because the moment that people have to pay the actual costs of an Uber ride, they may go back to taxis or driving their own cars.
There doesn't seem to be evidence of that.
Uber is apparently profitable in its mature markets (mainly the US).[0]
The money is mostly used to prop up new markets, where you have to give lots of incentives to get both sides of the market in place fast (keeping supply and demand matched is the constant challenge of nascent two-sided marketplaces).
That being said, the fact that they're having to turn to Saudi money (nobody's preferred source) isn't encouraging.