Uber, the ride-sharing company that’s confounded taxi cab monopolies across the world, has had a productive week.
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Some businesses would view, say, getting banned in Virginia as a setback. But Uber’s management barely seemed to take a breath, continuing their relentless expansion and ruffling feathers along the way.
Here are four undeniably awesome things that Uber did just in the past week.
1. Trolling the Washington Metro
Anyone who has the misfortune of taking the Washington Metro to work knows how sluggish and incompetent D.C.’s public transportation can be. Metro’s little-anticipated Silver Line is opening this Saturday, and while it’s promising to expand commuter access into Northern Virginia, residents are more worried about increased congestion on the nearby Orange Line, with which it shares many stations.
This week, Uber responded with a cheeky campaign trolling the entire Metro system. Customers heading to Tysons Corner and Reston this week get a free Uber ride and savings at local restaurants like Chef Geoff’s.
The promotion code? “SILVERLINE,” of course.
Uber claims it’s an effort to help customers around the Silver Line’s construction zones, but Washingtonians know a good PR jab when they see one.
2. Getting sued by Northern Virginia cab companies
Uber’s popularity has infuriated the taxi conglomerates in many cities, which have grown accustomed to a heavily regulated business model and fare structure that leaves no room for competition. Now eight Northern Virginia cab and limousine companies are suing Uber and fellow ride-sharer Lyft, demanding that a Fairfax County circuit court stop both businesses from operating without a license.
The charge? According to the Daily Press:
The taxicab companies say in their complaint to the court that Uber and Lyft are unlawfully competing and taking away their business, particularly as the startups are able to charge lower fares because they don’t require drivers to follow rules like getting commercial auto insurance or local business licenses.
Competition? Lower prices? Heaven forbid!
Uber responded by saying it will “vigorously defend the rights of riders to enjoy competition and choice, and for drivers to build their own small business.”
3. Bringing out Michael Bloomberg’s free-market side
Michael Bloomberg isn’t known for his tendentious defenses of unfettered capitalism. This is the man who tried to ban Big Gulps and waged a scorched-earth campaign against salt.
But credit Uber with unearthing Bloomberg’s long-dormant inner free marketeer.
“I am going to destroy your f*cking industry!” Bloomberg told a taxi company magnate last year. Now his associates are pouring money into Uber and Lyft, according to the New York Post. Bloomberg LP invests tens of millions in the venture capitalist firm Andreessen Horowitz, which gave Lyft $60 million last year. And Uber employs former Bloomberg advisor Bradley Tusk as a consultant.
4. Launching a political campaign against Big Taxi
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is operating a business, but he often sounds more like a politician in the Chris Christie mold. “We’re in a political campaign, and the candidate is Uber and the opponent is an asshole named Taxi,” Kalanick told CNBC in May. “Nobody likes him, he’s not a nice character, but he’s so woven into the political machinery and fabric that a lot of people owe him favors.”
Consequently, Kalanick has been seeking an executive with serious campaign experience. Uber recently held talks with Howard Wolfson, a long-time Democratic operative who was the communications director for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. Also up for consideration: former White House press secretary Jay Carney. Better to have them at Uber than in government, I suppose.
Uber’s overtures to political consultants show that it’s intent not just on making money, but also on defeating the cab monopoly and revolutionizing urban transportation. That’s bad news if you’re a taxi executive.
But if you’re a rider, tired of cabbies going 40 mph on the highway while that meter ticks ever-upwards, it’s the most exciting thing to happen to transportation in some time.