One word… Uber. What would we do without it? Most of us, particularly those living in the city, rely on Uber quite often as an essential way of getting from point A to point B. If you haven’t already used Uber, or at least heard of it, it is a transportation service company  that launched in March of 2009. Uber is the first of it’s kind, and is now used in over 800 metropolitan areas.


Uber’s Mission Statement is, “Transportation as reliable as running water, everywhere for everyone.”

Through an app, users are given the ability to type in a location in which they would like to travel to, then the app connects them to a driver, who will arrive at their current location for pick up in minutes. Unlike a cab, uber eliminates the need to call ahead along with many other perks compared to riding in a taxi. 

However, since Uber’s launch in 2009, they have created a long list of scandals, and transparency issues ranging from sexual harassment to controversial fares. Here’s just a few:

  • Uber’s over relaxed hiring process has led to many tragic situations including a sexual predator was hired as a driver, and later raped a passenger when she was in his car.
  • Transparency issues with unreliable surge fees. Users may be at the same location, going to the same destination, and be charged different prices. Also sometimes the routes that guide the driver often take the rider a longer way so that it is more expensive.

After several more scandals with the original CEO Travis Kalanick, he was forced to resign. The new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, is trying to revamp the company and promote transparency with a new outlook on the companies values and focus on safety. By
starting with advertisements in commercials and partnerships with organizations such as No uber3More, they are proactively encouraging appropriate behavior in terms of sexual
harassment. They also started running more thorough background checks on employees, and have been working on new features for the app such as RapidSOS, and a location sharing feature so that family and friends can follow you on your ride to make sure you get to your destination safely. Although the company still may not be perfect, it is on the right track to a more transparent culture, thanks to Khosrowshahi.


2 Responses to UBER

  1. andrea tanzidicosola says:

    Great post! I like how specific you are by adding all of those links. Also, I did not know about the different prices. It is good that you added the information here as well on the presentation.
    Even if these terrible things happen, people will still be using Uber because of their innovative idea of using the app and paying directly from it. Another good thing is that they are trying to fix the scandals they had. I think that this app definitely changed people’s lives.

  2. camerin walker says:

    Nice. I like how you focused on the scandals/issues the company has had and then the changes that have come into place through the new CEO.

    Uber is a great and efficient idea, it just needed some tweaks here and there to make it the best and safest it can be. I look forward to seeing more changes.

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