With the transformation of mobility gaining momentum, Uber’s potential for growth is immense; one of the company’s top executives told the annual Automotive News World Congress.
Shant Marakby, a former Ford Motor Co. executive who is now Uber’s vice president of global vehicle programs, said Uber’s ride-sharing business has caught on and continues to expand In cities such as New York, Los Angeles, London and Paris.
Further, the company expects to expand even more by adding autonomous vehicles in the future and help curb the use of surge pricing, which is unpopular with customers.
“Mobility is being transformed around the globe. We really believe the transformation is happening. And it’s just the beginning,” Marakby said.
Marakby said factors such as congestion, pollution and the recognition that vehicles are an under-utilized asset are driving the move towards ride sharing. The world’s roads, streets, garages and parking lots now hold more than 2 billion cars, he noted.
“That’s more than the population of China and Europe combined, but they sit idle 96% of the time,” Marakby said, offering ride hailing services such as Uber a unique opportunity to capture an increasing share of the total miles driven by cars and trucks.
In some larger cities, up to 25% of the younger millennials don’t own a vehicle, he noted.
“Cars are a very under-utilized asset. That’s something that’s changing,” said Marakby, who noted that in Manhattan, which has a very good public transportation there are a lot of areas that there are underserved and unreachable by bus or subway.
“There are 2.7 million cars that drive into Manhattan that’s a lot of congestion and lot of parking,” he said.
“When you look at Manhattan about one third are actually going outside the city. Only 10% of the taxi rides went outside the city, so you are growing mobility. In London, over the 30% of the rides end within 200 yards of a tube station,” Marakby said.
“You’ve got to adapt to the city,” said Marakby, noting the use of Uber’s services has also increased rapidly in Los Angeles, Paris and London. “Peak use is not in the midday or early but at midnight. One of the things it allows people to take a safe option. Fatalities from drunk driving dropped by 5% in California.”
In addition, Uber’s car-pooling service, which encourages users to share rides, is helping reduce congestion in the crowded San Francisco Bay region.
Ride-sharing could help reduce the number of vehicles on the road. But the number of miles each vehicle is driven would increase, leading to steady or rising demand for new cars and trucks, he said.
Read more of the original article at The Detroit Bureau.
