Abstract
Most of us know the story of what Salon’s Elias Isquith calls “Wall Street’s favourite disrupter”. Uber, the ride-hailing service run primarily through smartphones, is a global economic success story.
In 2008, it was but an idea held by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp. Today it is a profit-making “unicorn”. It was recently valued at US$62.5 billion.
How Uber came to be worth such significant sums is a question often posed. Integral to its success was its speedy efforts at connecting riders with drivers through smartphones. This saw Uber become an on-demand disruptor business. In the process, it has alluringly branded itself as a service “for the good of all” that puts “people first”.
Uber seemingly takes from over-priced taxis, facilitates livelihoods for its drivers, gives to the needy rider and sticks it to urban regulators – or so the story goes.
In 2008, it was but an idea held by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp. Today it is a profit-making “unicorn”. It was recently valued at US$62.5 billion.
How Uber came to be worth such significant sums is a question often posed. Integral to its success was its speedy efforts at connecting riders with drivers through smartphones. This saw Uber become an on-demand disruptor business. In the process, it has alluringly branded itself as a service “for the good of all” that puts “people first”.
Uber seemingly takes from over-priced taxis, facilitates livelihoods for its drivers, gives to the needy rider and sticks it to urban regulators – or so the story goes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 1-3 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Volume | 2016 |
| No. | July |
| Specialist publication | The Conversation |
| Publisher | The Conversation Paperpress |
| Publication status | Published - 5 Jul 2016 |