Right now, they estimate the global taxi market is worth $108 billion, which is triple the size of the $36-billion ride-hailing market. At the same time, they calculate an average of 15 million ride-hailing trips a day globally, which they expect to increase to 97 million by 2030.

In historical context, Uber’s extraordinary losses are thus not just a case of growing pains of an ambitious Silicon Valley startup, but a reflection of the deep structural deficiencies in ride-hail industry economics. Prior to artificial regulatory supply caps, the unregulated taxi industry was unprofitable and subject to growing concerns over negative externalities. Uber is now facing the same relentless drag on its P&L.

The Achilles’ heel of Uber and Lyft is their centralized management of pricing. This week's uproar by drivers — and their willingness to join an alternative — shows the failure of that approach. You cannot build a long-term relationship with drivers if you are taking away their ability to set their own pricing. Arcade City will decentralize those decisions to the level of the driver and their customers.