In message , at 10:28:37 on Thu, 13 Oct
2016, tim... remarked:

"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
In message , at 11:39:14 on Wed, 12 Oct
2016, tim... remarked:

What do you call the referral bonus, paid for by Uber not the
drivers, if not a subsidy to the drivers fulfilling those trips?

so when I get a 20 quid M&S voucher for recommending my insurance
company (whoever) to a friend, that is a subsidy, is it?

No, because the insurance company buys them in bulk off M&S (at a
discount because many get lost/thrown away). To bribe people to refer
insurance customers - it's not M&S bribing the insurance company £20
to drum up more M&S customers.

Uber taxi drivers don't buy the £15 vouchers and hand them to
potential new customers (thus reducing their first fare by £15). That
£15 is paid by Uber HQ, and is therefore a £15 subsidy to the driver
accepting the voucher.

Promotional marketing models not your strong point are they?

I understand that the vouchers work on the basis that not everyone will
spend them

But nevertheless the 15 pound "first ride free" is still a marketing
cost, not a driver subsidy.

It's a marketing cost *to Uber*, and it arises from them subsidising the
*drivers* by £15 for that inaugural trip.

How about "get your first 10 pound bet free" at the online bookies. Is
that a subsidy?

I wouldn't use that word as it's entirely internal to the bookie site.

And I know that this is just a bait to get people hooked, but there is
real costs associated with it from the group of people who arbitrage
that free bet into real money and never come back (except for the next
free bet offer) - Go on MSN and you'll find a community discussing how
to do this, some report making several 100 a month this way (no I don't
believe it either).

There are people who claim to make thousands by signing up for, and then
reselling, Uber vouchers.
--
Roland Perry