Uber is such an interesting company. I travel to Washington, DC quite often to visit my fiancee and started using Uber there mostly because it allowed me to pay with a credit card before DC cabs made the switch from cash-only. That was only the beginning for me though. The drivers are nice, the cars don’t smell, and if I leave my camera in there I am likely to get it back (my DSLR is gone forever). Needless to say I’m hooked. So hooked that I have priced an Uber from DC to State College ($285 – 380 one way last I checked) so I can reclaim the 3.5 hours it takes to drive for work. Seems a bit excessive so maybe I’ll just have to wait for driverless cars.
I also follow Uber’s business pretty closely. I like learning about their bicycle delivery attempts, on-site and on-demand flu shots, kittens delivered, the list goes on and on. Ok, maybe the kittens were a publicity stunt or just a way to inflate demand so they can charge peak prices but the kittens were adoptable so I give Uber a pass. However, some of these ideas are more central to their logistics business. One recent test lets you request an Uber van to move somewhat large objects across town. Don’t have a car and need to pick up a new bed at Ikea? Previously you could rent a U-Haul or more recently get your hands on a truck or van from ZipCar but in Hong Kong you can now get a van on demand. They are not the first to try this but it seems like a logical next step for them. I can’t wait until it’s running in the US.