The rise of Uber in the last few years has been remarkable. It's gone from being an innovative new concept taking on cab rides to becoming one of the premiere tech companies of the current decade. And many analysts believe this is only the beginning, as Uber continues to expand around the world. Just recently they launched UberYacht rides (on top of UberBoat and UberChopper).
But as Uber continues to expand, one logical question is how — or if — changing technology in the automobile industry might impact the company. On the one hand, Uber is now considered more of a cutting-edge tech company than a makeshift taxi service, and it would stand to reason they'd adopt the latest technologies however possible; on the other, the whole service is built on the idea of individual drivers doing things in their own ways.
At any rate, here are three ways in which advancing tech could change Uber, should the company look to make adjustments on a broad scale.
1. Promotion Of Electric Cars
The electric car revolution is here, and though it's taken a while to get moving, we're now starting to see a real transition from traditional to electric automobiles. You may have heard recently that Japan now has more charging stations than gas stations, and while the U.S. is not nearly to that point yet, we're on the same general path. And Uber has clearly taken note. In Chicago, Uber users who want to support clean driving efforts can now order electric Ubers specifically. With the continued spread of electric vehicles, Uber stands to promote their use in a pretty meaningful way through options like that one.
2. Mandatory Safe Driving Practices
Despite being considered a reliable service with a system of accountability built in, Uber does very little to test the safety habits of its drivers. But by requiring the use of some new tech, they might not really need to. The technology is specifically being used by company fleet managers and has the ability to combat distracted driving by way of monitoring habits and actions. Essentially, if a driver is prone to sudden stops and starts or exceeding the speed limit, an automated system can now issue a report of unsafe habits to, for example, an Uber manager. To be clear, this isn't yet in place, but thanks to wireless sensors emerging for vehicle tracking it's extremely feasible and could help Uber to swiftly improve its safety monitoring.
3. Automated Driving
In a sense the idea of automated driving (or driverless cars) seems to work against the idea of Uber as a pseudo-employer of so many drivers around the world. Nevertheless, the CEO of Uber has reportedly reached out to Tesla and offered to buy as many as half a million autonomous cars by 2020, if indeed Tesla can manufacture them by that point. It wouldn't wipe out Uber drivers completely in all likelihood, but it would change the nature of the company to one fully based on technology. Just imagine calling for an Uber and having a driverless car arrive to transport you in a matter of seconds or minutes!
If Uber is really going to be as cutting edge as their reputation is beginning to suggest they are, it'll likely be a matter of when and not if changes like these take effect.
Blaine Kelton is a freelance writer out of California.
