In my MBA class we discussed at length the advantages and disadvantages for Uber being a First Mover (or Second Mover to taxis) in the ride share market.

The economics section of fivethirtyeight recently posted an article detailing Uber’s fight for market share in Manhattan.

Some of the takeaways from the article are that:

• The net change in NYC pickups has remained relatively unchanged over the past year, indicating that Uber is eroding the market share of yellow cabs in NYC
• What is striking is that Uber is aggressively picking up market share in Manhattan, essentially replacing the loss in yellow cab pickups to the tune of 4 million rides
• Uber is adding rides to just about every borough of NYC they have increased the number of rides from 2 million 2014 (from April to June) to 8 million in 2015 (from April to June)

To say this is impressive is an understatement.

My students correctly predicted many of the pitfalls faced by the first mover (second to taxis) in the ride sharing market, but their optimism wasn’t as robust.