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Two of today's digital giants provide a useful guide to Uber's position and plans.
當下，兩大科技巨頭可以在市場定位和發(fā)展計劃方面為優(yōu)步提供借鑒之處。
Its executives never have Amazon far from their minds as they plot their company's future, says Bill Gurley,
比爾·格利表示，優(yōu)步的執(zhí)行官在描繪公司未來藍圖時始終在借鑒亞馬遜的經驗。
a venture capitalist at Benchmark Capital, who invested in Uber and sits on its board.
他是風投公司Benchmark Capital的風險投資人，同時也是優(yōu)步的投資者兼董事。
Amazon has favoured relentless growth over the pursuit of profits for much of its history, keeping prices low to win loyalty and grab market share.
自成立至今，亞馬遜絕大部分時間都在致力于壓低價格以求贏得客戶忠誠度，擴大市場份額，亞馬遜更加看重快速增長而并非實現盈利。
Uber is trying a similar track by subsidising drivers to keep fares down, by rapidly expanding into new cities and by launching new services, such as the delivery of food and other items.
優(yōu)步效仿亞馬遜，為司機提供補貼從而降低車費，不斷向新城市擴張，開發(fā)新服務，包括外賣等。
Investors like to see the company in terms of Facebook.
投資者喜歡拿臉書和優(yōu)步作比較。
When the social network accepted an investment from Microsoft that valued it at $15 billion in 2007, a time when it had not shown any real propensity to make money, this was decried as folly.
2007年，微軟向社交網站臉書注資，根據微軟的估價，臉書的市值為150億美元。彼時，臉書尚沒有表現出盈利能力，微軟注資的決定遭遇非難，看似愚不可及。
When it filed to go public at a valuation of around $100 billion in 2012, accusations of madness came back, based on worries about the company's ability to adapt to the mobile phone.
2012年，臉書以市場價值約合1000億美元申請上市時，近乎瘋狂的指責卷土重來，起因是人們擔心臉書不能適應手機（模式）。
Today Facebook has a market value of more than $360 billion.
時至今日，臉書的市場價值超過3600億美元。
A fear of missing out on the internet's next Facebook-sized hit is a big factor in the flood of capital into Uber's coffers.
投資者向優(yōu)步大量注資很大程度上是擔心錯失互聯網的下一個臉書效應。
Investors' bullishness is bolstered by Uber's position at the intersection of three linked disruptive trends.
投資者對優(yōu)步的前景看好也與優(yōu)步的市場定位有關，優(yōu)步處在三大相互關聯且具有顛覆性趨勢的交點上。
First is the emergence of asset-light business models.
首先，低資產商業(yè)模型的出現。
The cost of expanding is far lower for a startup that does not own its own cars or consider its drivers employees.
對于不用自購汽車、雇傭駕駛員的創(chuàng)業(yè)公司來說，擴張成本大大降低。
Second is the shift to the sharing economy, which underlies the success of peer-to-peer services; a system that lets people do as much or as little as they like attracts workers.
其二，共享經濟成為潮流，為點對點服務的成功奠定了基礎，由于不再強制分配工作量，該系統對于勞動者的吸引力有所上升。
The third is that consumers, especially young consumers, are increasingly happy to pay for access to things, rather than own them outright.
其三，消費者，特別是年輕的消費群體，日益熱衷于為商品的使用權買單，而不是所有權。
The average cost per mile of UberX is probably around $1.50 (euro 0.84/km) .
UberX車型的車輛每行駛1英里，平均費用約為1.50美元（合計0.84英鎊每公里）。
It already costs more than that to own a car in some places.
在有些地方，使用優(yōu)步車輛比駕駛私家車還要昂貴。
In New York City, car ownership works out at around $3 a mile.
在紐約市，私家車的駕駛成本是每英里3美元。
All told, about 14% of people in the urban centres of America's top 20 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) may find it cheaper to use UberX at current rates than to own a car,
總體看來，在美國前20的都市統計區(qū)域（MSAs）的城市中心區(qū)，約14%的人認為使用UberX服務（當前價格）比私家車成本更低。
according to Rod Lache of Deutsche Bank.
以上為德意志銀行的羅德·拉奇的推測，
The more Uber can bring costs down, the more widely it will compete with car ownership.
優(yōu)步的服務價格越低，與私家車競爭的實力就越強。
Mr Lache reckons that autonomous cars might bring the price per mile down to 89 cents or less—below the average cost per mile for car owner ship across all 20 top American MSAs.
羅德·拉奇同時推測，無人駕駛車輛將會把每英里服務價格降至89美分甚至更少，低于美國前20的都市統計區(qū)域（MSAs）內私家車的平均駕駛成本。
Cost is not the only reason someone would give up a car; convenience and time matter, too.
部分人放棄買車不僅僅是因為成本，便利和時間也是需要考慮的因素。
Like Amazon, though, Uber understands that low prices hook customers and is trying to push them down more.
然而，如同亞馬遜一樣，優(yōu)步清楚低價可以吸引客戶，同時也在盡力壓低價格招徠更多客戶。
In San Francisco the price of an UberX ride is half what it was two years ago.
在舊金山，UberX旅行價格是兩年前的一半。
An UberPool costs around half of an UberX ride.
UberPool的費用大概是UberX的一半。
Even without an interest in forming habits, though, Uber would have little choice about low prices—because it has competition.
然而，即使優(yōu)步不想壓低價格，它也別無選擇，因為它面臨著競爭。
The switching costs for both passengers and drivers are relatively low, which means new entrants can buy market share by subsidising trips and earnings.
對乘客和司機來說，換一個打車公司的成本并不高，這也意味著新的競爭者可以通過給司機和乘客發(fā)放補貼來獲取市場份額。
The same exuberance that has driven up Uber's valuation has also given its rivals the resources with which to attack it.
繁榮的市場提升了優(yōu)步的市值，同時給對手提供了攻擊優(yōu)步的資源。
Lyft, with 20% of the American market to Uber's 80%, is spending an estimated $50m a month to increase its share, and in many places it has been succeeding.
相比于優(yōu)步所占的80%，Lyft所占的市場份額僅為20%，而后者每月投入了約5000萬美金來提高它的比例，這一舉措已在多地卓有成效。
Uber has had to pay out to avoid losing passengers and drivers in key markets.
優(yōu)步不得不繼續(xù)投錢來避免核心市場中乘客和司機的流失。
New companies, hearing of gold in the ride-hailing hills, have rushed in; two startups, Juno and Via, have toeholds in New York.
因為發(fā)現打車服務是座金山，公司們蜂擁而至。在紐約已基本站穩(wěn)腳跟的就有兩個：Juno 和 Via。
Being the biggest company in a market helps a lot, because customers want short waiting times and drivers want frequent fares.
當市場里的龍頭老大是很有優(yōu)勢的，因為乘客不想等太久而司機想多接客。
But fighting off competitors still costs money.
但要打敗競爭者，也頗費財銀。
After claiming earlier this year that its developed-market business had become profitable, Uber lost an estimated $100m in America in the second quarter.
年初優(yōu)步稱其成熟市場業(yè)務已實現盈利，然而二季度優(yōu)步美國虧損約1億美元。
