What Dara Khosrowshahi must do to save Uber

Uber’s board has picked Dara Khosrowshahi, leader of the online travel company Expedia, to replace the embattled chief executive, Travis Kalanick. But the company’s troubles run deeper than Mr. Kalanick’s flubs and scandals, and new leadership alone won’t be able to right this distressed ship.

If Mr. Khosrowshahi is to succeed, he’ll have to do what his predecessor refused to do: confront the reality that Uber’s business model simply doesn’t work.

While Uber has become popular as a taxi company for the digital age, and has been valued at nearly $70 billion — more than Ford, G.M. or Tesla —