Uber Reaches 1 Billion RidesThe controversial ride-hailing company shows no signs of slowing down.
ByNina Zipkin•
If you want to use Uber to get from point A to point B this New Year's Eve, the ride-sharing service'ssurge pricingwill likely be hard to avoid -- but not for a London passenger named Marvin who just was gifted a year of free rides this week after making the company's 1 billionth trip.
Ina blog post touting the milestone, the company said that that it will be sending the uberX driver, Ara, on an all-expenses paid vacation to "the Uber city of his choice," and making a donation toHackney Pirates, a children's non-profit organization that is based in the neighborhood where the ride originated.
Related:到底是谁的re Uber's Drivers?
With 1 billion rides in the rearview mirror, it seems that the embattled startup has its eye on helping its users maketravel planstoo. Uberfiled a patent applicationwith the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a mobile app that would let users make an itinerary, book accommodations, reserve flights and get Uber rides back and forth to the airport.
The one wrinkle for now is that Uber and its competitorsaren't allowed to pick up passengers at many major airportsaround the country, but if the last five and half years have proved anything, it's that the company isnot afraid of a legal or regulatory battle.
Related:What You Need to Know to Compete With the Surging Sharing Economy
But just as Uber is growing other arms of the company, such as througha partnership with Facebookand itsfood delivery app UberEATS, its pioneering competitorSidecar closed its doors this weekafter three years in business. Beforeshutting down, Sidecar had raised $35 million in investor funds, while Lyft raised $1.3 billion.
Uber raised a whopping $7.4 billion, and counting.
