25 Shocking Facts About Uber
Beyond the company glam, though, are stories of protest, disgraced investors, and passenger murder. Here, then, are the shocking facts Uber doesn't want you to know! Check out some more interesting facts!
1.
Samantha Josephson mistakenly entered a wrong vehicle after ordering an Uber and was stabbed over 100 times in the backseat. She couldn't escape the vehicle because her assailant engaged the child lock mechanism for her doors. This incident sparked new laws and procedures to protect passengers.
2.
Lance Armstrong was ordered to pay over $20 million after his cycling doping scandal. However, his fortunes were partially saved by being one of Uber's first investors in 2009.
3.
In 2014, black taxi cab drivers brought parts of London to a standstill, protesting against Uber. This led to an 850% increase in downloads of Uber.
4.
Comedian/Actor Joel McHale took an Uber from Rochester, NY to Manhattan. His flight out was canceled and needed to get to his appearance on Jimmy Fallon, so he spent $700 on a (350 mile, 5-6 hour) Uber ride and paid $200 in tips, as well as paid the driver additional money for his gas back.
5.
Elwood Edwards, The voice of AOL’s ‘You’ve Got Mail’ was paid $200 for recording the ubiquitous phrase in 1989. He got the job because his wife worked at an AOL predecessor. He is now an Uber Driver in Ohio.
6.
Since Uber was introduced in New York City in 2011, drinking-related car wrecks decreased by 25–35 percent in all boroughs.
7.
Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Strange in the MCU, saved a cyclist from an attempted robbery by fighting off a gang of muggers in London. He was in an Uber when he saw 4 muggers jumping a delivery cyclist. He got out, screamed at the attackers and then dragged them off of the victim.
8.
Uber drivers in China changed their profile photos to ghosts and zombie images so that when potential passengers saw these pictures they would cancel the ride they’d just booked, thus earning the driver the cancellation fee.
9.
An Uber Driver asked his Passenger to drive while on a 300-mile route so he could take a nap. He awoke to them being chased by the police.
10.
In Pakistan, when Uber joined the market, car dealership owners signed up their free cars to take advantage of payments given for loss of business.
11.
Uber's operation SLOG tried to undermine Lyft, including trying to recruit Lyft drivers and calling, then canceling over 5000 rides on the Lyft app.
12.
In Uber's 2018 fatal self-driving car accident the system mis-identified the pedestrian and didn't act to avoid the accident. The car's emergency braking system could have acted at the last second, but that system had been disabled.
13.
Travis Kalanick, billionaire founder and CEO of Uber, was the #2 ranked Wii Tennis player in the world.
14.
In 2019, UCLA students call about 11,000 Uber and Lyft rides that never leave the campus every week.
15.
An Uber driver sued Snapchat, alleging that the teen who crashed into him at 107 mph was using Snapchat's speed filter while driving.
17.
Hakan Şükür, former world class striker and top scorer of the Turkish national soccer team, works as an Uber driver in Washington D.C.
18.
Uber drivers will occasionally notify the police when they drop off/observe lots of (US) teens with alcohol going into a party.
20.
Four years ago, Uber released documents revealing its self-driving cars drove 20,354 miles... but required human intervention at every mile.
21.
Uber Technologies has filed a patent on how self-driving cars might communicate with pedestrians. The patent title is "Light output system for a self-driving vehicle." The patent looks at how flashing lights and signs on the outside of self-driving cars might tell pedestrians what is happening.
23.
Tostitos made a promotional bag for the Superbowl that had sensors to detect alcohol on a person's breath. If alcohol was detected the bag gave a 10% discount for Uber, and also had a NFC tag to call the driver.
24.
The Billion Dollar Tweet: Travis was looking for a co-founder after coming up with the idea of Uber He tweeted that he wants a partner and Ryan replied within a minute. Both of these guys were billionaires just 16 months after this tweet.
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