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US-based ride-hailing giant Uber held an event in Sydney, Australia, to talk about the company’s performance. Among one such conversation, the company quoted a study published by UK-based consultancy firm PublicFirst that said that Uber unlocked INR 44,600 Cr in economic value for India in 2021.

For reference, economic value measures the benefit derived from a good or service to an individual or a company. In Uber’s case, it is the value of its platform and asset use by the end consumer, the impact of earnings of driver-partners and the multiplier effect created throughout the company’s supply chain.

Uber claimed to have produced INR 1.5 Lakh Cr in consumer surplus for Indians and saved their 16.8 Cr hours a year. The company also stated that it has 6 Lakh monthly drivers and 85 Lakh monthly riders.

Uber’s Profitability Plans & Addressing Challenges In India

The comment comes alongside Uber’s plans to turn profitable within the country. At the event in Australia, Pradeep Parameswaran, regional general manager of the Asia Pacific region for Uber, told reporters that India is a long-term investment market for the company. It is working towards addressing several challenges within the country’s ride-hailing ecosystem.

He added that India, for Uber, looks to become a fast-growing and profitable market soon, backed by heavy demand and low penetration of ride-hailing. “Every year, our unit economics is getting better than the previous year. So we don’t have an exact timeline for being profitable in India. But I’d say it’s not that far away either,” he said.

The Uber executive added that while it is posting good unit economics, it is looking to invest in intercity, high-capacity vehicles (HCV) and spending on marketing, technology and customer care. It is looking to address challenges in the market, as ‘India is among the most-challenged markets in the world in terms of service denial’.

For instance, whatever the reason (no up-front destination information, digital payment trips and increase in fuel prices), ride cancellations in India have been an issue. The company addressed this by implementing new features such as destination and payment mode transparency reducing driver cancellation by 80%.

Besides value-add to the economy and building a profitable market nearly a decade after entering the country, the company is also in conversation with the government for regulations such as state-specific rules for taxi fare meters. To augment the gig economy, it is advocating implementing social security code.

In another development, SoftBank sold its Uber holdings between April and July 2022 at an average price of $41.47 per share. The company share is trading on NASDAQ at $31.20 (4:45 PM IST). Uber was recently mired in controversies after an alarming set of internal emails and documents of the company came to light. Dubbed the ‘Uber Files‘, these documents have prompted government scrutiny for new rules and regulations within Indian laws.

As for India, the cab-hailing company pulled out of Indian foodtech unicorn Zomato in a $392 Mn block deal. Uber had sold its foodtech business in India to Zomato in exchange for an almost 8% stake in the company. Recently, Uber refuted rumours of selling its ride-sharing business in India to Ola.