Sachin Kansal, Uber CPO Interview
"Providing Affordable Options to Ease Inflation Burden"
Uber Unveils New Services at Goget 2025
"We aim to provide affordable options for consumers struggling with rising prices and to support better experiences in daily transportation and shopping."
Sachin Kansal, Chief Product Officer (CPO) of ride-sharing company Uber, made this statement in an interview with Korean correspondents after unveiling numerous new services at Uber's annual event 'Goget 2025,' held at Oculus in New York, USA, on the 14th (local time).
Sachin Kansal, Uber Chief Product Officer (CPO), is interviewing with Korean correspondents after unveiling numerous new services at Uber's annual event 'Goget 2025' held at Oculus in New York, USA, on the 14th (local time). New York=Photo by Haeyoung Kwon
Kansal stated, "The top priority in developing new services is to address user needs, including alleviating the burden of inflation," adding, "We focused on services that provide real value across all aspects of daily life, such as commuting, dining, and purchasing essentials." He continued, "As users increasingly seek more affordable transportation, we introduced 'Uber Share' (a carpool service for commuting), and in some regions, we have included two- and three-wheeled vehicles on our platform to offer even more economical options. With the announcement of these new services, we have made significant progress in this direction."
At this event, Uber unveiled a variety of new services designed to ease users' burdens in this era of high prices. These include: 'Route Sharing,' which allows users to set their commute route and time, share rides with passengers whose routes overlap, and reduce costs by up to 50%; 'Ride Pass,' which offers fixed commute fares for a monthly fee of $2.99 or discounts when purchasing multiple rides in advance; and the 'Savings Slider' feature within Uber Eats, which automatically compares grocery prices and recommends products with faster delivery. Additional features include the 'Commute Hub,' which consolidates all commute-related services in one place, and 'Dine Out,' which allows users to make various reservations within the Uber Eats application through a partnership with the restaurant reservation platform OpenTable.
Uber also presented 'electric,' 'shared,' and 'autonomous driving' as key concepts for the future mobility market, and announced plans for an autonomous vehicle ride-sharing service. This service is scheduled to launch in Los Angeles, USA, in 2026 through a partnership with Volkswagen.
Kansal also emphasized Uber's active use of artificial intelligence (AI) across its services. He explained, "Uber uses AI to match passengers with vehicles and to optimize driving routes. The newly announced services are also designed so that, as soon as a passenger opens the application, they can predict vehicle locations and estimated arrival times based on AI." He added, "AI is applied to all of Uber's products and services, enabling approximately 10 million predictions per second."
He also mentioned Uber's expansion plans for the Korean market. Currently, Uber operates a taxi-hailing service in Korea under the name 'Uber Taxi,' while ride-sharing is not yet permitted. The newly announced services will also not be launched in Korea at this time.
Kansal stated, "We are operating our services in compliance with regulations, working in cooperation with regulatory authorities and local partners," and added, "We will continue to strictly comply with Korean regulations as we expand our business in the future."
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