Uberwants to be a tech company that Warren Buffett could invest in.

优步(Uber)想成为沃伦.巴菲特(Warren Buffett)可能投资的科技公司。

Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio encompasses railroads and airlines — it is not a big leap to urban transport.

伯克希尔哈撒韦(Berkshire Hathaway)的投资组合中包括铁路公司和航空公司——如果投资城市交通的话，也不算大的跳跃。

As Uber approaches critical mass, it aspires to a similar investment thesis: dominance of regional markets; prices that rise with inflation; revenues linked to population growth; personal mobility in ubiquitous demand.

一步步接近临界规模的优步渴望自身也能够符合这种投资理念：区域市场的主导地位；与通胀一道上涨的价格；与人口增长保持一致的营收；无处不在的个人出行需求。

Railroads and airlines make money; Uber does not, yet, even after jettisoning its lossmaking Chinese business.

铁路公司和航空公司能赚钱；但优步仍未盈利——即使是在抛下亏损的中国业务之后。

In the third quarter the company lost more than $800m on revenues of $1.7bn, according to figures first published on Tuesday by The Information website.

根据周二最先由The Information网站发布的数据，优步第三财季营收17亿美元，亏损逾8亿美元。

This would matter more if Uber also thought of itself as a transportation company.

如果优步也自认为是一家运输公司，盈利问题就更加重要了。

But the goal is to be more like theNew York Stock Exchange than the BNSF Railway: a dominant marketplace matching human capital (drivers) and physical assets (cars) with those willing to pay for using them.

但优步似乎更想成为像纽交所(NYSE)、而非北伯林顿铁路(BNSF Railway)一样的公司：一个将人力资本（司机）和实物资产（汽车）与愿意付费使用它们的用户匹配起来的最大市场。

The distinction matters in light of a case before the European Court of Justice, due to decide on Uber’s regulatory framework.

考虑到欧洲法院将就适用于优步的监管框架做出判决，这种区别很重要。

And it also explains why investors tolerate the cash burn, because exchanges reap a disproportionate share of the rewards a market can offer.

这也可以解释，为什么投资者能容忍优步烧钱，因为一个市场所能带来的好处，很大一部分都归了交易所。

The analogy with NYSE is not exact (although, like an exchange, to achieve dominance it has to squeeze out competitors).

与纽交所相提并论并不准确（虽然，像交易所一样，要占据主导地位就必须挤走竞争对手）。

A stock exchange does not dictate transaction clearing prices, while Uber’s pricing mechanism is intrinsic to its business.

交易所不决定交易结算价格，而优步的定价机制是其业务之本。

But most important is the debate about whether drivers should be considered independent from or employed by the company.

但最重要的是关于司机应被视为独立个体还是受雇于优步的讨论。

If adjudged to be employees, Uber will approximate a taxi company more than an exchange, and the idea of a monopoly in local transportation suffers a blow.

如果司机被视为雇员，优步就更像是出租车公司，而非交易所，而地方交通运输业被垄断的观点将不成立。

If not, the question is whether investors will go on patiently watching their money going up in smoke while Uber chases the scale needed to achieve its dream.

如果司机不被视为雇员，那么优步面临的问题便是：在优步追求扩大规模以实现梦想的时候，投资者是否会继续耐心地看着自己的钱化作青烟？