• A new report points to households with kids as "power users" of apps like Uber.
• Families tend to use the apps more often than other groups and spend more on them, TransUnion found.
• Uber and other ride-hailing apps are trying to increase how often users turn to them.

If you have kids, there's a good chance that you rely a lot more on gig delivery and ride-hailing services than most people, according to a new report.

Families with children are more likely to use a range of gig services more often than people without kids, making them "power users," a report from TransUnion this month found.

Sixty-one percent of respondents with kids said they order food for delivery from a service like DoorDash "once or multiple times a week," according to a survey of 1,051 adults that TransUnion conducted in February. About 40% of respondents without children said the same.

Households with children also spent more than those without kids. About 5% of childless users spent more than $500 a month on gig services. For people with kids, 23% spent at least that much.

Families represent exactly the kinds of users that many gig apps want: People who use the apps frequently and spend a lot on them. While apps like Uber focused on getting customers to start using their services last decade, many now want to become part of users' daily routines, providing rides to work and delivering grocery hauls.

"It's not only usage in terms of frequency, but usage in terms of just sheer amount of money that's spent as well," Mark Rose, senior director, market strategy for TransUnion's retail business, told Business Insider in an interview.

Some delivery and ride-hailing apps have added features specifically for families. In 2023, for instance, Uber started offering accounts specifically for teens to order food for delivery or call a ride — with parental oversight of their spending and confirmation that they made it to their destination.

Gig apps could do even more to cater to families, TransUnion's Rose said.

For example, TransUnion's survey found that promotions — think limited-time discounts or coupons — were one of the top factors that users with kids considered when deciding which app to use.

That means gig apps could offer more promotions specifically for families, especially given their growing businesses in advertising and helping restaurants and brands market to specific types of customers, Rose said.

"Could I help a restaurant target certain promotions based on family meal deals or other sorts of options that would appeal to a family?" Rose said. "I think there's more to be done there."

Spokespeople for Uber and DoorDash did not respond to requests for comment from BI.

Do you have a story to share about gig work? Contact this reporter at [email protected] or 808-854-4501.

• Uber is racing to add robotaxis to its ride-hailing network, even as drivers express concerns.
• Uber's robotaxi chief said the role of human drivers will soon change, with robotaxis set to dominate in city centres.
• However, he added that Uber will still need human drivers, with self-driving cars struggling in extreme weather.

Uber drivers are already sharing the road with robot rivals — and it could be about to change their jobs forever.

Senior VP Andrew Macdonald, who oversees Uber's autonomous vehicle operations, said that although human drivers would remain crucial to its ride-hailing business, they will soon face serious competition from self-driving taxis in city centers.

"I am almost certain that there will be more Uber drivers in 10 years, not less, because I think the world will move from individual car ownership to mobility as a service," said Macdonald, who was speaking during The Financial Times' Future of the Car conference.

"You'll continue to see that pie grow. But it will look different. You'll have urban cores where a large percentage of trips are serviced by autonomous vehicles. And to some, that will feel like very abrupt change," he added.

Uber has struck multiple deals with robotaxi companies to host their autonomous vehicles on its app over the past year.

The ride-hailing giant currently allows users to hail Waymo vehicles in Austin and Phoenix, with Atlanta set to follow later this year.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi hailed the Austin launch as a major success in Uber's earnings call last week, telling analysts that the Waymo robotaxis in Austin were busier than "99%" of its human drivers.

Uber's aggressive self-driving push — which has also seen it strike deals with Volkswagen, Wayve, and Chinese firms WeRide and Pony.AI — has come as its drivers express growing concern about the impact of driverless taxis on their livelihoods.

Uber drivers in Phoenix previously told Business Insider that their earnings are already being hurt by competition from Waymo, with some saying they intend to shun short-distance city center trips in favor of more profitable airport pickups.

Macdonald said that he didn't think the growth of the robotaxi industry was having an effect on driver earnings or opportunities just yet.

However, he added that he expected drivers would start feeling the impact soon in cities where robotaxis are becoming common, such as Austin, LA, and parts of China.

Macdonald said that Uber was pursuing a "hybrid marketplace" with a mix of human and robot drivers handling different types of routes.

"You can get an autonomous vehicle on the Uber platform in Austin today, we're available in 37 square miles," he said.

"If you're outside that area, you can get a human driver. If you're going from inside that area to outside, you can get a human driver. If you're going to the airport or on highways right now, it takes a human driver. There's a lot of value to having that hybrid," he added.

Macdonald said some of these journeys would "move more autonomous over time," but that the shift would create "other opportunities" for Uber drivers.

While autonomous vehicles are mostly limited to city centers and urban areas right now, Waymo is waiting on approval to offer airport drop-offs and pick-ups in multiple cities, and has said it is testing its robotaxis on freeways.

Despite this, the Uber executive believes there will be some situations that can only be handled by human drivers, such as bouts of extreme weather like blizzards or hailstorms.

"Even if an autonomous vehicle can handle 99% of weather cases, there's 1% of cases where maybe those cars need to pull over," said Macdonald.

"When you're running a fleet of 400 vehicles in a city, and all of them have to pull over at once, what happens to your ride-hailing service? For us, we send a bunch of humans to pick you up," he added.

Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• Uber's newest features include options for cheaper rides and food delivery.
• Users will soon be able to find cheaper groceries and get a new type of shared ride in the app.
• CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has talked about the importance of getting users to order frequently.

Uber's newest features could help you spend less on each ride or grocery order — particularly if you use the app frequently.

The ride-hailing and delivery app unveiled multiple budget-focused offerings at its annual Go-Get conference, from a tool that finds cheaper groceries to a new kind of shared ride aimed at commuters that focuses on the busiest streets in an area.

With the features, Uber wants to make "things a little easier, a little more predictable, and above all, a lot more affordable" for users, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said at the conference Wednesday.

The price-conscious features come as Uber tries to get existing customers to use its app more. Uber's latest quarterly results, which the company reported last week, were driven by "growth that's coming from engagement and frequency, not just price," Khosrowshahi said on a call this month.

The company is also seeing growth in the number of subscribers to Uber One, its paid subscription service that offers discounts and other perks on rides and delivery.

One of the new features unveiled Wednesday is the Uber Eats Savings Slider. Customers will be able to add groceries to their basket, then use the slider to decide how much money they would like to save. As they increase the savings amount, the app will suggest cheaper versions of what they have selected.

The feature could save users 15% to 20% on average and will be available later this year in the US and Canada, Rohan Mathew, Uber's senior director of delivery engineering, said at Go-Get.

"If I care how many swaps Uber makes, I can really crank up the savings," he said. In an example on stage, Mathew increased the savings amount, which swapped a blanket that he had selected for a Snuggy wearable blanket that was on sale.

Uber is also adding an option it calls "Route Share" to its ride-hailing business. Under the offering, users can save as much as 50% on fares by walking longer distances to pick up points along major, busy streets and sharing rides with other passengers, the company said at its presentation.

Route Share is "our most affordable ride offering yet" and "the perfect way to get to and from work without breaking the bank," Uber said in a statement summarizing the new features. Uber started offering the service on Wednesday in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, and Baltimore.

Both Route Share and the grocery feature are aimed at users who would incorporate them into their daily or weekly routines.

Uber's focus on savings and how much customers pay for its services comes as many consumer brands worry about a potential recession, driven in part by the lingering effects of President Donald Trump's tariffs on the economy.

Uber itself has not reported evidence of a downturn, with customers still spending on ride-hailing trips and food deliveries. And Wednesday's presentation didn't include much talk of the state of the economy.

But leaders at the conference made many references to savings, deals, and discounts. While introducing the savings slider feature, for instance, Mathew referenced grocery prices that have remained high thanks to inflation.

And Sachin Kansal, Uber's chief product officer, said at the conference that its route share feature is meant to help daily commuters save money.

Using Uber could also get cheaper if a recession comes, Khosrowshahi said recently, since more people would be likely to turn to working for the app for income.

Do you have a story to share about gig work? Contact this reporter at [email protected] or 808-854-4501.

Uber announced a new type of ride that travels along a set route, comes every 20 minutes, includes up to two other passengers, and costs up to 50 percent less than an UberX ride. In other words, a bus.

For years, Uber and its smaller rival Lyft have been gently mocked online for occasionally releasing products that closely resemble public transportation. That’s likely to crop up again with the launch of Route Share, a fixed route car service that requires the customer to walk a few minutes to a predetermined pickup spot, and then again to their exact destination. The service will only be available in select cities and only during commuting hours in the morning and evening.

But I regret to inform you that Uber has already heard all your jokes and snide comments about Uber inventing the bus. And as long as the end product is well-liked and more affordable than its other ridehail services, it feels like the end goal is what counts.

“We are complementary to public transit,” says Uber’s product chief Sachin Kansal, in an interview. “We think of this as a journey towards lower and lower car ownership, as people transition from driving themselves over to using products like Uber Share and now Route Share.”

Route Share is being announced during Uber’s annual Go/Get product event, in which the ridehail company unveils new features for its for-hire vehicle and food delivery apps. This year’s event is structured around the theme of affordability. And Route Share, with its extra walking and limited availability, is among Uber’s cheapest ride to date.

The company says it will be up to 50 percent less expensive than taking an UberX. Uber offers the example of a ride from the Upper West Side to the Lower East Side of Manhattan: while a normal UberX trip would cost $38, the Route Share version would only set you back $19.

“People are feeling more and more uncertain,” Kansal said. “They’re seeing prices go up in different realms of their life.  And that is definitely generating some anxiety.”

Uber has been down this route before (no pun intended), asking customers to wait a little longer or walk a little further in exchange for cheaper fares. Uber Pool was the first attempt to persuade riders to sacrifice a little convenience for more efficient ridesharing, but that service suffered from poor planning, unrealistic expectations, and a lack of proper driver outreach. Kansal says that Uber Share, its current iteration, is doing much better, clocking in nearly one million rides a month.

Route Share will be available during weekday commute hours (6-10AM and 4-8PM local time) in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, and Baltimore. Other cities will be added in the future. And starting today, riders in those cities can select the option to see nearby routes — with pickups every 20 minutes — and book a seat from seven days to 10 minutes before any scheduled pickup.

Uber is also announcing a new price lock feature, in which a customer can lock in a certain price for up to 10 routes for a fee of just $2.99 a month. If the upfront price is lower than the locked-in price, customers will get that lower price. Kansal says the feature is for customers who use Uber frequently to make the same trip and would like some predictability in what they pay. The new feature is available in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix, San Francisco, Washington DC, and soon the rest of the country and Brazil.

For even more discounts, customers who know they’re going to take a set number of trips a month — anything from five to 20 rides — can now prepay for those trips at a reduced rate. Riders can expect discounts of up to 15 percent when purchasing prepaid passes.

On the Eats side, Uber is finally revealing details from its partnership with Open Table. The restaurant reservation app will be integrated into the Uber app to make reserving a table and booking a car to a restaurant easier. Rides booked through the Open Table integration will also be discounted. And Uber One subscribers will get access to exclusive dining establishments that aren’t open to everyone. And for grocery orders, Uber Eats customers can now use a new slider feature to indicate how much money they want to save, which prompts the app to find generic products that may be cheaper than name brand items.

Taken together, Kansal says these product announcements will help take some of them bite out of using Uber — especially at a time when people are concerned about rising costs.

“The truth of the matter is that the people who are commuting on our platform on a daily basis are not just businesspeople who are on business travel going to the airport and stuff,” he said. “Everyday workers are commuting on our platform, shift workers are commuting on our platform, nurses [and] restaurant chefs are commuting on our platform.”

• GigU, an app that gives gig workers per-mile and per-hour pay estimates, just launched in the US.
• The app's "cherry picker" feature was the subject of a legal battle with Uber in Brazil.
• Many gig workers have become more selective about which jobs they take as they try to earn more.

An app launching in the US on Wednesday has drawn ire from Uber in the past after helping gig workers answer a key question: Which rides and deliveries make the most financial sense to take?

GigU uses information that independent contractors see on-screen when they are offered a gig to calculate an estimate of how much the worker will earn per mile and at an hourly rate.

The feature, which GigU calls the "cherry picker," is designed to help drivers and delivery workers accept or reject a job within the seconds-long window that most apps give them, its founders say. The app works with only Android phones for now.

"They tend to accept it all," Luiz Gustavo Neves, GigU's CEO and cofounder, said in an interview with Business Insider.

Factors such as the rising cost of car maintenance mean that gig workers "need to be more alert to which rides are profitable and which ones are not," he added.

GigU is one of multiple third-party apps that say they give gig workers more information — and can help them earn more. A study by the data analytics company Gridwise released earlier this year found that many gig workers saw their earnings on apps such as Uber and Instacart fall in 2024 despite spending a similar or greater amount of time on the platforms.

In GigU, users can set specific ranges for pay and, for ride-hailing gigs, passenger ratings. Based on those settings, GigU assigns a color to orders or rides as they pop up on screen: Green for a job that would be the most lucrative for the driver, yellow for options with earnings that mostly fall between the ranges that users set, and red for a job that doesn't meet their goals.

The concern of declining pay was one reason Neves and Pedro Inada, GigU's other cofounder, started creating businesses catered to gig workers.

Inada and Neves founded StopClub in Brazil as a pit-stop where gig workers could get a bite to eat and have their car cleaned, they told BI. When the pandemic started, they launched an app for workers who couldn't gather in person.

In 2023, they added a forerunner of the cherry picker function that GigU offers. The idea came from one of the app's users, Inada said.

"He said: 'Look, we really have to select the rides. Driver pay hasn't gone up. Inflation is up. Could you guys build something that would help us choose the best offers?'" Inada said.

GigU says it has raised about $5 million in seed funding, part of which will bankroll its US expansion.

It says that its app can analyze information from multiple gig-work apps, including Uber, Uber Eats, Lyft, and DoorDash.

But GigU doesn't have relationships with those companies, and the cofounders ended up in a legal battle with Uber in 2023 over the similar feature in StopClub's app in Brazil.

Uber Brazil said that the app violated local copyright and competition laws and illegally obtained and stored confidential data from the Uber app, the tech news site Rest of World reported at the time. A court in Brazil decided in favor of GigU and allowed the app to stand.

An Uber spokesperson said that "using automation tools, apps, or bots to manipulate the Uber app or access Uber data in any way isn't allowed" per its community guidelines and terms of service. Uber is still "engaged on the legal front in Brazil" with GigU and StopClub, the spokesperson added.

DoorDash and Lyft didn't respond to requests for comment.

GigU's founders said that their app merely takes information that the gig worker already sees and presents it in a more analytical context. From there, it's up to the gig worker to make a choice, they said.

The app doesn't accept jobs on behalf of the workers or spoof their GPS location, Neves added. Other third-party apps, known among gig workers as "bots," are capable of those kinds of tasks.

"We had users asking us to do that kind of stuff as well," Neves said. "We said, 'No, we're not going to do that, because that is wrong.'"

"We just give them transparency," he added.

Having that transparency can make a difference for gig workers who are served a trip or order while in the middle of completing one, said Len Sherman, an executive in residence and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School.

For the gig worker, "it's system overload," Sherman told BI.

"He's still got a passenger, he's trying to figure out how to finish the trip, something pings up, it's a distraction," he said. "By and large, they're accepting these trips, which is why Uber can keep the price down."

Do you have a story to share about gig work? Contact this reporter at [email protected] or 808-854-4501.

• Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday that he wants to bring robotaxis to Saudi Arabia.
• Uber is already making a robotaxi play in the Kingdom through a partnership with China's Pony.AI.
• Uber also owns Careem, the dominant rideshare app in the region.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he wants to bring robotaxis to Saudi Arabia, where Uber is already laying the groundwork to launch autonomous vehicles later this year.

At the US-Saudi Investment Forum on Tuesday, Musk made a big push for robotics in Saudi Arabia, including self-driving cars.

"Really you can think of future cars as being robots on four wheels, and I think it would be very exciting to have autonomous vehicles here in the Kingdom if you're amenable," Musk said to Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi's Minister of Communications and Information Technology.

Musk didn't provide any details or timeline for when that could happen.

Tesla has yet to launch its robotaxi service to the public anywhere in the world. The company has said it plans to launch a pilot of the service in Austin in June. Musk said the ramp-up for expansion afterward should be quick.

A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabian leaders have said they want autonomous vehicles to play a role in the country's broader Vision 2030 modernization plans, which aim to reduce the region's economic dependence on oil by making heavy investments in technology. The country last year released a regulatory framework around the adoption of self-driving cars.

Uber announced on May 6 that it plans to deploy robotaxis in the Kingdom sometime this year through its partnership with China's Pony.AI. The company hasn't specified a date.

Pony.AI's robotaxi ambitions in the US came to a screeching halt in 2022 after the Department of Motor Vehicles revoked its California permit, citing multiple driving violations. The startup continues to offer autonomous rides to the public in China.

A spokesperson for Pony.AI did not respond to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabia's Transport General Authority said Tuesday in a post on X that the agency had signed a memorandum of understanding with Uber to launch autonomous vehicles in the Kingdom. An MOU is not binding and simply signals an intent to collaborate.

"First autonomous vehicles expected to launch on the Uber platform with onboard safety operators in 2025," the Transport General Authority wrote.

Uber is already a sizable player in the Kingdom's rideshare market.

The company owns Careem, which is the go-to ride-hailing app in the Middle East, operating in 26 cities throughout the Kingdom. Uber also separately operates its ridesharing service in the region.

A spokesperson for Uber declined to comment. A spokesperson for Careem did not respond to a request for comment.

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• Creators from MrBeast to Dhar Mann to Smosh are hiring CEOs to level up their businesses.
• These top executives manage operations and business strategy for creators.
• Hiring executives helps creators focus on content while scaling their businesses.

Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox might be the faces of the YouTube comedy collective, Smosh, but behind the cameras, someone else helps run their 64-person team.

Padilla and Hecox named Alessandra Catanese, Padilla's longtime manager, CEO in 2023. This allowed the pair to focus on the creative side of their YouTube channels.

Catanese handles the company's day-to-day operations and overall business strategy.

"I certainly don't believe that every creator needs a CEO, but I do believe not every creator is a CEO," Catanese told Business Insider.

Smosh isn't the only creator-led operation to put an outside executive in a top role in the past few years. In 2023, the popular sports creator Jesser hired Zach Miller, a Spotify and NBCUniversal alum, as its first president. In 2024, YouTube's most-subscribed-to creator, Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson, hired Jeffrey Housenbold to lead his company as CEO and president.

Donaldson is among a generation of YouTube creators who came to fame at a young age. He didn't attend college or even work a regular job before he got into content creation. Leaders from the outside can help creators like MrBeast fill skills gaps and build teams as they look to rival Hollywood studios.

Some of the biggest YouTubers are now leaning on CEOs, presidents, and other C-suite executives to help them make smart business moves and manage sprawling production teams. They're tapping execs from talent management firms, Hollywood, and creator economy startups.

"A lot of creators have reached a scale where they know they need more operating support," said Sean Atkins, CEO of Dhar Mann Studios. Atkins, a former MTV exec, joined the company from creator Dhar Mann last year.

Helping creators build a business to compete with Hollywood

The new class of YouTuber chief executives is helping creators build teams, develop M&A strategies, raise funding, or weather growing pains.

Timothy Salmon was promoted last year to president of CatFace, the company behind YouTuber Aphmau, who has 23.6 million subscribers and makes videos about Minecraft. Salmon joined the company in 2018 and has a background in post-production for TV and film.

He helps manage a 93-person team in Austin, freeing up creator Jessica Bravura to focus on creative tasks, like writing scripts and planning videos. He keeps the team on top of YouTube's ever-shifting algorithm.

"YouTube is an ever-evolving beast," Salmon said. "If you're not flexible and you can't adapt, it will leave you behind."

Catanese, meanwhile, works from Smosh's Los Angeles office, where she spends most of her time meeting with staff or business partners. She has helped Smosh hire to adapt to TV screens and cash in on YouTube's battle with streamers. Catanese elevated Kiana Parker to the role of executive vice president of programming, overseeing this strategy for Smosh.

Atkins, who works from New York and LA, studies the Dhar Mann audience. He analyzes metrics like viewership, watch time, and click-through rates and uses them to evaluate the company's strategies.

"I wake up in the morning, and I immediately look at the numbers," Atkins said.

He also oversees operations, such as hiring, and new brand initiatives, like touring and M&A. In February, his team hired a chief strategy officer to work alongside Atkins on sourcing, negotiating, and structuring potential M&A deals.

Meanwhile, creator group Dude Perfect brought on former NBA exec Andrew Yaffe as CEO late last year. He helps hire talent in front of and behind the camera, build partnerships with brands, and manage the long-term strategy.

Housenbold, the CEO of Beast Industries, is leading MrBeast's company as it raises fresh capital. Housenbold has compared the company to Disney for the next generation when pitching prospective investors, as Business Insider previously reported.

Some creators are reluctant to cede control

For a creator, bringing on a CEO or president also means letting go of some control.

"It's hard because creators come from an industry rooted in doing it all by themselves," Catanese said.

At the end of the day, their name and brand are on the line. Salmon at CatFace said there have been times when the broader team was set on a strategy, like a brand deal or how a sponsor was presented in a video, but the creator said it didn't feel right.

"Working with content creators can be very fascinating, frustrating, exciting, and exhausting," Salmon said. "This company is a representation of who they are. It's understandable that they're picky about the brand and how it's seen."

But the biggest risk to a creator business is burnout, and CEOs and other executives can help take some of the pressure off creators.

"I always tell creators to build systems and teams around them so that they can continue to scale without burning out," Atkins said. "The No. 1 thing I see for a lot of creators is that they've done everything in the past, so they continue to try to do everything themselves without taking a break."

Part of a CEO's job is making creators feel comfortable that they're not going to mess with what's working. For most creator businesses, the creator is at the center of the content, and it really doesn't work without them.

"Let's not forget who built this," Atkins said. "My job is to enhance it, not to change it."

• Uber is teaming up with Chinese firm WeRide to bring its robotaxis to 15 new cities.
• CEO Tony Han told BI the deal would help WeRide scale and solve the very hardest robotaxi problems.
• Don't expect to see WeRide's robotaxis in the US, however; Han said the company is focusing on Europe and the Middle East.

Chinese firm WeRide is the latest piece of Uber's robotaxi puzzle.

The two companies announced last week that WeRide's driverless taxis would be coming to the Uber app in 15 cities outside the US and China over the next five years. It did not reveal the list of cities.

The deal is the latest in a series that Uber has struck with self-driving companies, and WeRide's CEO told Business Insider that the expanded partnership would supercharge the development of WeRide's autonomous vehicles.

"Uber's scale is very important. There are some long-tail problems, you have to have the scalability in order to find them," Tony Han told Business Insider.

For self-driving cars, "long-tail problems" refer to unusual scenarios that rarely show up in everyday driving, making them difficult to simulate.

Training robotaxis to deal with these 'edge case' situations can require massive vehicle fleets and thousands of miles of real-world driving.

It's a problem all robotaxi companies face — including Tesla's upcoming robotaxi service in Texas, with CEO Elon Musk telling investors last month the automaker's fleet was driving "all over Austin in circles" to identify edge cases before the June launch.

Han said operating its vehicles on the Uber app across multiple continents would give WeRide the chance to prove the safety of its technology, adding that the company has yet to record an accident in over 2,000 days of robotaxi operation.

"This will just convince people that taking WeRide's products and robotaxi service is safe. And our goal is to make robotaxi safer than a human driver," said Han.

Founded in 2017, WeRide has ridden China's robotaxi boom to a $4 billion valuation, and is one of the few Chinese autonomous vehicle companies to operate beyond its home market.

The Guangzhou-based firm tests and operates a range of autonomous vehicles — including robotaxis, robovans, and robo-road sweepers — across 10 countries.

WeRide's expanded partnership with Uber, which also saw the ride-hailing giant invest an extra $100 million in the Chinese self-driving company, comes after the two companies teamed up to launch a robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi last year, with Dubai set to follow soon.

Han told BI that the Abu Dhabi robotaxi service had been a success, with the company "aggressively recruiting" local operational staff, and said the expansion would take a "phased approach" with several cities being added in Europe and the Middle East over the next five years.

"The deal with Uber gives us another layer of confidence, because Uber has already rolled out their car-hailing service in all of these countries," said Han.

"This will actually reduce our efforts to a large extent. We only need to focus on autonomous driving technology and relevant regulations. We don't need to worry too much about the car-hailing service part, about the user acquisition part," he added.

Global robotaxi race heats up

Han has worked in the autonomous vehicle industry in China and the US.

Prior to founding WeRide in 2017, he was a professor of computer engineering at the University of Missouri and worked in Silicon Valley as Baidu's chief scientist. He told BI that both the US and China have a wealth of technical knowledge and robotaxi know-how.

However, he added that China's robotaxi industry has at least two advantages over its Pacific rival — the country's booming EV industry, which Han said drives innovation and keeps costs down, and its famously chaotic roads.

"In China, the number of complicated scenarios offers a very good testing environment, which enables robust algorithm development for WeRide," Han said.

WeRide is one of a handful of Chinese robotaxi firms with a permit to test its vehicles on public roads in California, but the company has no plans to begin commercial operations in the US anytime soon.

Earlier this year, the outgoing Biden administration finalized rules effectively banning Chinese vehicle software from the US, which also barred Chinese companies from testing robotaxis on US roads.

Asked about the new rules, Han said the company had no commercial operations in the US and was focused on markets in Europe, the Middle East, Singapore, and potentially Japan.

"We have already got our hands full. There are a lot of things we need to do in the Middle East and European market," he added.

China's self-driving boom hits a speed bump

China has seen an explosion in autonomous vehicle technology in recent years, with EV giants like BYD offering driver assist tech in nearly all their vehicles for free.

A recent survey by consulting firm AlixPartners found that more than half of the cars sold in China last year were equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), which operate some vehicle functions but require driver supervision, compared to less than 40% in the US.

The robotaxi boom has hit a speed bump in recent months, however, with authorities issuing a sweeping overhaul of regulations after a fatal crash involving a Xiaomi EV in March.

Unlike BYD and Xiaomi, WeRide operates fully autonomous robotaxis. The company also has a deal with German firm Bosch to use its technology in driver assistance systems for passenger cars in China.

Han said that both robotaxis and ADAS-equipped vehicles needed to go through "a very thorough process" to ensure they were safe to operate.

"No matter if you are driving a private car or you are sitting in a robotaxi, we want human transportation to be much more reliable and much safer. So I think safety is always the priority," he said.

• The suburbs represent a growth area for Uber's ride-hailing service.
• Rides in these less-dense markets can actually be more profitable for Uber than rides in cities.
• Uber reported first-quarter earnings on Wednesday.

Uber has most big cities covered with its gig-work drivers. Now, the company is trying to grow its ride-hailing business in the suburbs and other areas where people are spread out.

About 20% of the ride-hailing trips on Uber happen in "sparser markets," Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah, Uber's CFO, said on the company's earnings call Wednesday. The number of rides in those less-dense markets is growing faster than those that Uber provides in dense cities, he added.

Suburbs represent an enticing growth market for ride-hailing apps like Uber as well as delivery apps like Instacart.

Last year, Uber struck a deal with Costco to start delivering items from the warehouse retailer to customers' doorsteps through Uber Eats. At the time, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that the suburbs represented a growth opportunity for Uber, since many shoppers in those areas tend to be more affluent and buy more at once.

Bringing ride-hailing and delivery services to the 'burbs comes with challenges.

Having drivers nearby can be harder, for instance, since ride-hailing drivers tend to hang out near populated or busy areas to increase the chance of claiming good-paying rides. Suburbs, by nature, are more sprawled out, meaning the closest driver might take a while to show up — if they even think it's worth it at all to take the ride.

Another challenge for Uber in the suburbs is that more people own cars, Khosrowshahi said.

Unlike dense city centers, people are used to driving to get almost anywhere. Exceptions include people who want to get to and from the airport without driving themselves and paying for long-term parking.

But some suburbanites are still using Uber in specific ways, Khosrowshahi said.

Many are big users of Uber Reserve, which allows riders to book rides in advance, the CEO said.

For riders, that can be more efficient, since there might not be a driver waiting nearby to pick them up if they order a ride when they need to leave.

Reserved rides also tend to cost more, which is a benefit to Uber as it expands in the suburbs, Khosrowshahi said.

A growing share of Uber rides in the suburbs are not related to long-distance travel, such as catching a flight, he said on Wednesday's call. Instead, users are turning to the app for more day-to-day rides.

"It's becoming an everyday habit going out to dinner," he said.

All of that means that Uber riders in the suburbs probably won't use the ride-hailing service as much as their city-dwelling counterparts, Khosrowshahi said. But the rides they do take are likely to be more profitable for Uber, he added.

Uber reported first-quarter earnings that were largely ahead of analysts' expectations on Wednesday. Despite worries about a potential recession and higher prices from President Donald Trump's tariffs, the ride-hailing service said that its customers are not yet pulling back on spending.

"We don't see any consumer slowdown at this point," Khosrowshahi said on CNBC on Wednesday. "We don't see consumers trading down to more affordable restaurants or pulling back from any of our services."

• Uber is reportedly cracking down on remote work, return-to-office plans, and other benefits.
• CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the changes might prompt Uber employees to look for jobs elsewhere.
• Tech companies have been pulling back on remote work and other employee benefits.

Uber's Dara Khosrowshahi is perfectly OK with employees who don't agree with him wanting to jump ship.

Khosrowshahi has recently made a slew of changes that might rub some workers the wrong way. He wants corporate employees back in the office at least three days a week, is asking remote workers to return to the office, and is extending the number of years people have to work before being offered a paid sabbatical.

In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Khosrowshahi said these changes could push some employees away, but they're in luck.

"The good news is the economy is still really strong. The job market is strong," he said. "People who work at Uber, they have lots of opportunities everywhere."

Hedging his comments, Khosrowshahi said that the company would, of course, like the employees to stick around but that the changes are sticking around.

"We want them, obviously, to take the opportunity with us, to take the opportunity to learn," Khosrowshahi added.

"We want more people in the office," Khosrowshahi said, adding that the revised policy gives employees flexibility to work from home two days a week, on Monday and Friday.

"It's the right mix of giving your employees flexibility but also getting them to the office for those all-important teamwork tasks," he said.

An Uber spokesperson said the changes weren't related to planned layoffs or meant to drive attrition. Starting in June, employees are expected to work in the office three days a week.

Big Tech companies have been cutting or revising various employee benefits over the past few years.

Recent changes to Amazon's compensation structure, for instance, reward top-performing employees and reduce what some low-performing workers earn.

Lately, though, some tech executives have given their staff a choice to either "disagree and commit" to the changes or leave the company.

Meta's chief technology officer, Andrew Bosworth, told employees that it was their choice after the company rolled back diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and said it would cut its low-performing employees.

There have also been multiple rounds of layoffs at Big Tech firms. Some companies, such as Microsoft, have explicitly made job cuts based on job performance.

Do you have a story to share about Uber? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].

• Uber's CEO said the Waymo robotaxis on its app in Austin are already busier than Uber's human drivers.
• Dara Khosrowshahi said Uber will grow its self-driving fleet after the deal with Waymo "exceeded expectations."
• The ride-hailing giant has struck deals with over a dozen robotaxi firms to offer self-driving cars.

Uber passengers in Austin seemingly can't get enough of Waymo's robotaxis, with the 100 or so Waymo vehicles operating on the Uber app already busier than the human drivers they share the road with.

"These approximately 100 vehicles are now busier than over 99% of all drivers in Austin in terms of completed trips per day," CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in prepared remarks after Uber announced its first-quarter earnings on Wednesday.

Khosrowshahi said the two companies plan to scale their autonomous fleet in Austin to "hundreds" of Waymos in the coming months, ahead of the launch of Waymo's robotaxis on the Uber app in Atlanta later this year.

Thanks to its hands-off regulations, Austin has become a hotspot for autonomous vehicles. In March, Uber began offering Waymo vehicles exclusively on its app for the first time in the city.

The two companies will soon face competition from Tesla, which is due to launch its own robotaxi service in Austin in June.

Uber drivers in Austin previously told Business Insider they were concerned about the long-term impact of Waymo's arrival, while others in LA and Phoenix have said competition from the driverless taxis is already hurting earnings.

Uber has abandoned plans to build its own robotaxis in recent years in favor of partnering with a host of self-driving car companies.

The ride-hailer has struck deals with 18 autonomous vehicle companies to offer their vehicles on the Uber app, including Volkswagen and Waymo in the US and Chinese firms WeRide and Pony.AI in Europe and the Middle East.

In comments after Uber released its first quarter earnings, Khosrowshahi said self-driving cars were the "single greatest opportunity ahead for Uber," adding the company was "laser-focused" on adding as many robotaxis to its platform as possible.

Uber's earnings on Wednesday missed Wall Street's expectations for revenue. It reported $42.8 billion in revenue for the quarter, below the consensus forecast of $43.1 billion.

Rideshare booking growth also slowed, with the company's stock falling almost 5% in premarket trade on the back of the results.