“In the beginning, Uber “It was a small product company with a small number of driver partners in a limited area,” says Juan Pablo Eiroa, general director of mobility at Uber Mexico. “But now we have more than 1.7 million driver partners in the country.”
Although it is a controversial service due to different issues related to the way in which driver partners operate or even customer service, in Mexico it has a base of 8 million users who use the platform as a mobility option every year. month.
The keys that the executive sees behind the success of Uber Mexico are that it managed to offer more optimal and simple mobility for users; However, he also accepts that throughout this decade one of the main challenges and focuses of attention for the platform has been security.
Safety, Uber’s most problematic point
In these 10 years, Uber has faced important cases related to people’s safety, which put the quality of the service in a predicament. One of the most important issues has been sexual violence against women during their travels.
According to the Uber Safety Report 2019-2020, in the United States, 3,824 reports of sexual crimes were received, among which, 141 were for rape and 998 for sexual abuse. Despite these figures, the numbers represent a decrease of 38% compared to the 2017-2018 report.
Due to these types of situations, Eiroa highlights that they have paid more attention to the platform’s security functions. “We have evolved it so that it is not only a secure application, but also that trust is a path that we continually travel and continues to grow.”
Since 2013, Uber has launched more than 40 security features, such as the PIN to verify the start of a trip or the RideCheck algorithm, which allows identifying anomalies in trips and thus triggering certain actions to protect people.
Likewise, the mobility director mentions that they have deepened the collaboration with the authorities and an example of this is the integration with the C4 and C5 in Mexico City, something they adopted due to the recognition that security was a problem that did not allow them to advance. in their objectives.
In terms of gender violence, Uber has also been aware of this problem and has made efforts to reduce these figures. Cecilia Román, safety communication leader at Uber, previously shared with Expansión that since 2018 they have maintained the commitment to combat and eradicate violence against women.
“This is a challenge that we face throughout the world, the region and in Mexico. But we have the chance to be part of a valuable solution and products. Our conviction is that it has to be a comprehensive work from different areas,” she shared.
Among some of the tools they have integrated in this regard are filters for driver partners, zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior, as well as alliances and initiatives with research institutes, shelter networks and NGOs to generate informative content.
The pandemic, the great moment of Uber Eats
During the bloodiest moment of the pandemic, Uber’s core business was hit hard. In 2020 and the first half of 2021, as people sheltered at home, travel fell sharply. For the second quarter of 2021 and much of 2022, the company faced a shortage of drivers who looked for other alternatives to obtain income.
It was not until the second quarter of 2023 that the company completely forgot about the year, as it managed to replenish the mobility segment until it became the most profitable, with $4.89 billion in revenue for that period, in addition to a record of 137 million monthly users. on the platform.
Thus, while the mobility division was going through a lean time, the food delivery vertical was responsible for sustaining the company. The data highlights that in 2021 it earned 13.4 billion dollars, while in 2022 it was 14.3 billion.
In Mexico, this phenomenon was also replicated. Uber Eats started with 500 establishments in 2016 in Mexico and now has more than 50,000 businesses, which are not only restaurants, but also supermarkets, pharmacies or even pet stores, which demonstrates the relevance of this business for Uber.
Currently, Uber Eats represents 20% of the income of restaurants that use its platform, and now that the pandemic is no longer a problem, Colunga mentions that the impact is no longer only digital, but also physical, Because customers who discovered restaurants through Uber Eats are going to businesses in person.
Global company with local impact
During this period, Uber Mexico has had to live with different global challenges. One of the most important has been Uber Files, an investigation where it was revealed how Travis Kalanik, co-founder of Uber, had direct dealings with several governments to guarantee its expansion.
Uber told The Guardian, the newspaper responsible for the investigation, that it made mistakes and missteps, but that it had transformed since 2017 under the leadership of its current CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi.
“We do not and will not make excuses for past behavior that is clearly not in line with our current values. Instead, we ask the public to judge us by what we have done in the last five years and what we will do in the years to come.” , the company told the British media.
Despite this impact, Colunga highlights that being a global company is a “great advantage”, as it allows them to establish two-way feedback. On the one hand, global learning is taken to improve the countries’ products and, on the other hand, everything that happens in Mexico also has an impact on the global operation.
“Few companies have this kind of scale that allows you to have this level of learning, where you solve globally, but at the same time address local needs,” concludes Colunga.