15 Cool Facts You Would Want To Know About Uber!

Facts About Uber

“Uberize” is now a word, thanks to the story of Uber’s growth. It means to change the market for service by introducing a different way of buying or using it, especially using mobile technology. That’s how much Uber has impacted the realities in businesses and service delivery. Here are some interesting things to know about the San Francisco based company founded by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp in 2009.

1. It was not always called Uber

The name was changed from UberCab to Uber in 2010. The new name means “super”, “high ranking” and has its origins in the German word ‘über’.

2. Uber cars cannot be more than 10 years old

If you want to be in using your car for Uber, then the car has to be less than 10 years old. If not, sorry, it does not qualify.

3. Celebrities use Uber too

Yes! Mark Cuban, Elon Musk, Marissa Mayer, Jack Dorsey have ridden Uber. Interesting, right?

4. Drivers don’t know where you are going

When you set your destination when requesting a ride, the driver does not have the destination information. He only knows where to pick you up.

5. Uber and Toyota are working together

It is collaborating with Toyota to create a vehicle and commercial autonomous service; an all-electric, driverless shuttle.

6. Uber driverless cars are in the works

Uber has agreed to buy 24,000 self-driving and on-demand cars from Volvo. The cars are being developed under Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group (ATG).

7. Growth came with challenges

The international growth of Uber led to disputes with governments and some taxi companies. Over 170 lawsuits in the US were filed against Uber in 2015 alone.

8. Uber cars are of different classes

Car tiers include UberX, UberXL, UberSelect, UberBlack, SUV, Assist, UberWAV, UberEspanol.

9. All drivers are not the same

There are four classes of Uber drivers: Pros, Crossovers, New Enthusiasts, and Part-Timers. Pros drive UberBLACK luxury cars. Crossovers are a previous taxi or black car drivers that now drive UberX cars and have been active for less than six months. New Enthusiasts are newbies that consistently drive UberX cars. Part-Timers are drivers that have a flexible earning opportunity. 75% of Part-Timers drivers hold other jobs beside Uber.

10. Where is Uber banned?

Uber is banned in Canada (Vancouver), Bulgaria, Denmark, Italy, Hungary, US (Austin, Texas and Alaska), China, Taiwan, and the Northern Territory of Australia.

11. Top 5 cities using Uber

The top 5 cities using Uber are Washington DC, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and Atlanta.

12. Uber driver numbers

Uber has over 7 million drivers and 14% of these drivers are women. 51% of Uber drivers only work 15 hours or less per week. The 25% of drivers have a full time or part-time job outside Uber.

13. Uber discounts are available

There are certain websites where you find an Uber discount code that you can use to get a reduced price on your next Uber fare – this is usually a fixed discount $15 to $20 off, but you can find all sorts of interesting deals.

14. Uber is not only about transportation

It also runs the Advanced Technologies Group (self-driving technologies, mapping, and vehicle safety), Uber Freight, UberPOOL (Car sharing), UberRUSH (Parcel delivery), and food delivery services (UberEATS and UberFRESH)

15. Uber Acquisitions

Uber acquisitions include deCarta (2015), Otto ($680 million, 2016), Geometric Intelligence (2016), Swipe Labs (2017), Ando (2018).