SAN FRANCISCO — Uber announced its 2 billionth ride Monday, signaling a major milestone for the ride-booking company as it rapidly expands across the globe.
CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick posted the news on his Facebook page, underscoring Uber’s staggering growth even as it faces dozens of lawsuits around the country, unfriendly regulations here and overseas, and stiff competition in China.
“It took five years to reach our billionth trip, six months to reach the next billion … and we’ll hopefully reach our third even more quickly. Thanks to all the drivers out there for making every trip possible,” Kalanick wrote in a post that included a smiling emoji and a tag that indicated the CEO was “feeling optimistic.”
Uber completed its first ride in 2010 and hit the 1 billion ride mark on Christmas Eve in London last year.
The company reached another billion rides on June 17. Who took the 2 billionth trip? It was a 147-way tie — 147 rides started the same second, at 9:16 p.m., and all counted as the landmark trip.
The winning rides happened in 16 countries on five continents, including Costa Rica, Russia, China and Australia. The longest, in Indonesia, lasted more than an hour. The shortest, in China, lasted three minutes.
Uber is giving each 2 billionth rider and driver $450 because Uber operates in 450 cities around the world.
The ride-booking giant is worth more than $60 billion and has stockpiled more than $15 billion in cash, but Uber’s milestone announcement comes during a turbulent time for the company. Uber is fighting more than 70 lawsuits in federal courts around the country and recently pulled its services out of Austin over rules requiring drivers to undergo fingerprint background checks.
Uber also is facing hostility in Europe. In France the company and two executives were fined up to $1.1 million for criminal convictions of violating transportation and privacy laws. In China, Uber is struggling to gain a foothold as it competes with local market leader Didi Chuxing.
But Monday’s announcement proves that none of those challenges will be enough to stop Uber, said San Jose technology analyst Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies.
“It is a big milestone because it fundamentally reaffirms the fact that their business model works,” he said. “The fact that they were able to go through this second billion rides in six months is fascinating and quite significant because it continues to show the growth curve they’re on.”
Marisa Kendall covers startups and venture capital. Contact her at 408-920-5009 and follow her at Twitter.com/marisakendall.
