I can see his point.

Flat-resistant tires. They've made flats much, much rarer than they used to be. I haven't actually gotten a flat while riding in years.
Can't leave your gear outside on your bike. If you are biking to a destination carrying flat repair equipment with you makes less appealling. You ride up, lock your bike, walk inside. Imagine if you have flat repair equipment with you - walk into a restaurant carrying it with you, walk into a movie carrying it with you, etc. You can't leave it outside on your bike or someone will probably steal it.
Good cell and uber/lyft coverage. If you live in a big city cell coverage and uber/lyft/etc are nearly everywhere.
Half the time you'd pay $10-$15 to avoid changing it on the road anyways. Raining, particularly cold, dark, sometimes you'd pay to avoid to be able to fix it at home anyways.
Cost - a road morph mini on amazon w/tax costs $36. You get one flat every 3 years, it might be 6 years before you broke even vs uber.