MORE jobs and reduced traffic congestion are the pledges being made by Travis Kalanick, CEO of Uber Technologies.
Kalanick is on a European tour meeting city mayors from Munich to Madrid seeking to establish partnerships across the continent, according to financial news agency Bloomberg.
We want to make 2015 the year where we establish partnerships with new European cities
He claims his mission is to alleviate regulatory pressure for a transport system that could help the region gain 50,000 jobs this year. The app-based taxi service has been widely criticised by traditional taxi companies and legislators claiming unfair business practices.
Speaking at the Digital Life Design Conference in Munich, Kalanick said: “We want to make 2015 the year where we establish partnerships with new European cities. If we can find a regulatory framework that makes this a reality, we can promise jobs and less congestion. The impact we can bring to cities is huge.”
Actions from regulators around the globe have threatened to halt the San Francisco-based company’s expansion. Investors last year valued the start-up at $40Bn, partly based on Uber’s growth prospects worldwide. Kalanick’s main challenge will be to win allies in Europe, one of the largest transportation markets.
The company was banned in Spain last month and its services have been suspended amid legal challenges in several US states. The latest setback came last week, when the European Union’s top court denied non-traditional cabs the use of bus lanes in London.
Uber has responded by adjusting its services and setting up new ones, in some cases sacrificing its main business model. For instance, its software now also allows customers to find taxis in several countries, even though that’s a far less profitable business.
Uber’s name has been tarnished by reports of drivers assaulting passengers and an executive suggesting that the company find and share personal secrets of critical journalists.
