Uber to focus on bikes and scooters over cars
Uber said it plans to focus more on electric scooters and bikes for short journeys and rely less on cars.
Chief Dara Khosrowshahi said that individual and small modes of transport are better suited for inner city travel as journeys with cars can sometimes inefficient.
"During rush hour, it is very inefficient for a one-tonne hulk of metal to take one person 10 blocks," he told the Financial Times.
"Short-term financially, maybe it's not a win for us, but strategically long term we think that is exactly where we want to head,” he added.
Uber has already teamed up with Jump electric bikes and with electric scooter company Lime.
Mr Khosrowshahi admitted that Uber would make less money from a bike ride than from the same trip in a car, but it would invite customers to use the app more frequently for shorter journeys.
"We are willing to trade off short-term per-unit economics for long-term higher engagement," he told the FT.
Uber first added bicycles to its app in February and are available in New York, Chicago and Washington DC. They are soon to open in Berlin.