Uber Files
If Tech failed to face competitors like massive-giant taxis companies, then, influencing a politician is a shortcut
Urging staff to stage a protest by a gig-driver. With too much leverage, Didi has a completely complicated relationship with several high ranking Politburo China, then dumped local (oligopoly, or maybe really monopoly) taxis in China. So did Grab with high ranking Singapore administration under Lee Hsien-Loong, facing Taxis service.
And the latest is Uber: for U.S. businesses that have a relationship (& deal) with former Obama advisor on Ethics Issues, Jim Messina. And in France, with (a long time ago still Economy Minister, but today) President Macron.
Jim Messina used their connections to help Uber expand across the world, even contacting US ambassadors to help the company in countries like Spain, France, and the Netherlands. Messina, for instance, asked an Uber lobbyist if he should discuss the company’s regulatory problems in Spain with then-Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy while handling Rajoy’s political campaign, the documents show.
Uber's biggest achievements IMO is how it has forced taxis to compete on service and shook up some parts of the "taxi mafia" as a new entrant. The transport business is messy: Uber at least has a digital trail.
But, Uber’s rise (maybe also Didi's rise, Grab's rise, and Lyft's rise, etc) iis not some ‘free market’ success story. It was a co-ordinated theft of our urban economies, based on exploitation + aggressive lobbying. Much of which was - in the words of Uber executives himself - ‘fucking illegal’
Helping a company that's a giant tax scam, denying the state of money, is so on-message for Macron. While French taxi drivers staged sometimes violent protests in the streets against Uber, Mr Macron - now president - was on first name terms with Uber's controversial boss Travis Kalanick, and told him he would reform laws in the firm's favour. He's such a shit. He will be selling himself to oligarchs like his fellow Boris Johnson or Gerhard Schroeder.
Basically venture capitalists (through Uber, Didi, Grab, Lyft) subsidized millions of cars circling our most transit friendly cities/neighborhoods for a full decade. It probably undid any progress made on urban “alternative transportation” during that decade and then some imo, emissions wise. It was pretty widely recognized as a problem in urban transport circles until the pandemic I guess and everyone forgot. Something weird about how we talk about transportation is, everyone says transit was “in decline” before COVID, no one finished the sentence “because venture capital was subsidizing Uber trips and now Uber is a failed shell of a company”.
Uber used covert tech to thwart government raids around the world. A trove of 124,000 newly released documents show Kalanick's direct involvement in discussions around covert tools to stymie investigators. Uber executives ordered the deployment of previously reported tech tools such as the kill switch and Greyball to gain advantages over authorities, across the Atlantic and even include India operation. No details about Uber in Indonesia---several years ago already closed the operation. But, ".... We’re just fucking illegal,” Nairi Hourdajian, then head of Uber’s global communications, wrote to a colleague amid government efforts to shut down the ride-hailing service in Thailand and India.
Another ridiculous shutdown story. How Uber left Hungary swiftly, after trying to lobby, but to the government favoring the taxis status quo. And how Uber decided against offering free rides for migrants, fearing the anti-immigrant Hungarian government. shows that if a government was set on banning ridersharing and favored keeping the taxi monopoly (or, the "taxi mafia" as it's the case in Hungary) then it could and did.
Investigation shows that if a government was set on banning ridesharing and favored keeping the taxi monopoly (or, the "taxi mafia" as it's the case in Hungary) then it could and did. There was a chance for companies like Uber or others becoming a "monopoly" and building out a moat. It's not happening, especially with competition on the market. Short term: great for customers. Long term: consolidation as you said.
Uber's argument seems to be that then we broke the law but now we don't so it's fine. But Uber today benefits from its past lawbreaking, so the bandits need to be punished today for the past behaviour they still benefit from. Macron backed Uber as it was openly flaunting French law when he was a minister. Secret unreported meetings, legislative support for deregulation and undermining of workers rights.
Uber executive contempt for world leaders and senior politicians was breathtaking.
From Obama-Joe Biden (before the Trump regime) to Emmanuel Macron, they were pawns to be exploited.(Biden) Who then changed his speech at Davos to praise Uber. It's a fascinating insight into just how brazen a tech company backed by billions in investment can be, & what a risk to democracy it is when companies become more powerful than governments.
Uber says it has put all that behind it with the ousting of ex Uber CEO Travis Kalanick in 2017. However, interesting to note that several people named still work there, in very senior positions. Uber's response, that this was all the fault of the previous CEO, is ridiculous, especially since many of those exposed in the Uber Files investigation are now in even more powerful positions in the company. E.g. Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, who is now in charge of Uber Eats (currently Uber Eats have a cooperation with French Club Olympique Marseille).
On one hand Uber,Grab, Didi, and Lyft decrease transit ridership, increase congestion, mostly serve rich people in a handful of transit accessible neighborhood, spend half their time dead heading empty of passengers, lose a mind boggling amount of investors’ money. But another side, companies like Uber really set a easy access to commute from one location to another.
It was not for nothing that Macron's bid to seek the Presidency garnered huge financial and media support. Yes, he was smart and promised to stir the pot. But, without prior commitments to Big Business, the establishment tries to snuff out any new outfit.