As one of the biggest unicorns in today’s digital economy, Uber is finding itself in a place where the company needs to constantly reinvent itself to show value and compete in the market.
One of the newest innovations, according to reporting today, that Uber is instituting involves new safety features that are intended to to protect passengers as well as drivers.
Uber is announcing new tools to prevent tragedies like kidnapping and sexual assault: one is an identity tool that will help people make sure they’re getting into the right car. Through another feature, users will reportedly be able to call 911 from inside the car.
“Our commitment to safety is long term,” Sachin Kansal, Uber senior director of product management and head of safety products, said in a press statement. “What you will continue to see from us is ongoing commitment and continuing to launch features based on what our users say.”
Throughout the past half year since its IPO, Uber has been under various different kinds of pressure, but one of those pressures has been the issue of security. Uber leaders are hoping that this new set of features makes progress on that front, while they also struggle to redraft the company structure to try to make Uber profitable.
After an IPO over $40 per share, Uber trades today at around $30 per share, with one-month highs of $34.43. Realistically Uber is still bouncing near the 52-week lows of $28.31. For traders who have any stake in this company, it will be important to keep looking at the complex math of Uber’s valuation to see what the future holds for this ride-sharing company – has Uber already seen its golden days?
Dominic Rushe at the Guardian thought so, even before the company’s IPO, writing a scathing indictment of Uber’s business model May 9, claiming that the company loses money on every ride, but the people who really lose out are the drivers.
“The dream of the sharing economy has been exposed as a libertarian sham propped up by would-be monopolists with too much money,” Rushe wrote, sparing no critique in denouncing Uber as a way for high net worth individuals to benefit from the hard work of others.
Other key issues raised in the press in Uber critiques this year include classifying Uber drivers as either independent contractors or employees, ensuring that the ride-sharing process in itself remains profitable for drivers, and showing the company’s financial solvency and value down the road. Stay tuned.
