Product Profile: Uber
INDUSTRY
transportation
Category
mobility services
products Profiled
Uber’s rideshare, micromobility,(1) and car rental services
H-Score
57
ranked 12th of 18 within the transportation industry
ranked 27th of 76 overall
product descriptions
Rideshare: Uber is best known for its original product, its rideshare or ride hailing service, in which users can hail a ride through Uber’s app and an independent driver will arrive and drive the user to the intended destination. Uber offers the service at multiple levels, including different types of vehicles, and a mode (UberX Share) where you can choose to ride with other passengers.
Bikeshare: Uber offers access, through its app, to Lime’s dockless bikeshare program in selected cities.
Scooters: As with bikeshare services, Uber offers access, through its app, to Lime’s dockless e-scooter program in selected cities.
Car Rentals: Uber is currently offering access, through rental agency partners, to short-term car rentals through the app.
product use
Overall: Users launch Uber with a smartphone app that offers the choice of “Rides,” “Delivery,” and other services (e.g. car rental, package pickup and delivery). Choosing “Rides” launches a screen for the user to enter a destination and select the type of ride service.
Rideshare: Uber offers door-to-door car service. A user types a destination into their phone and a driver shows up with a car to take the user directly to that destination. Uber offers different levels of service based on the size or comfort of the vehicle and also offers an UberX Share option, in which riders share rides with strangers. Both drivers and passengers rate each other, creating a reputation for each based on a 5-point star system, which influences future decisions to accept drivers and passengers.
Bikeshare: Using the main screen of Uber’s app, bicycling -- with electric bikes -- is offered as an alternative to ride hailing for any destination in cities where bikeshare service is available. After selecting the bike option in the app, the user can then reserve a specific e-bike or walk to the location of an e-bike, scan a QR code, then cycle to their desired destination.
Scooters: Using an e-scooter works the same way as reserving, or scanning, a bike.
Car rentals: Users select the “rent” option in the app and can reserve rental cars through agencies such as Hertz, Avis and Budget.
Uber’s services are offered on a pay-as-you-go basis, although Uber also offers a subscription service, Uber One,(2) that provides discounted rides, priority access to top-rated drivers, and free delivery fees for certain food and grocery orders.
who’s affected
Uber serves the general public and its rideshare service is available throughout the US. Specific demographics of Uber’s users are not available, but an earlier (2017) survey suggests that the ridership is generally representative of the population, with the exception of younger riders being over-represented.(3)
influence on health-related behaviors
Note: This profile focuses on the impact on health-related behaviors of the users, not the drivers.
Note: This profile focuses only on Uber’s mobility services. Uber Eats is profiled separately.
EATING
neutral to slight positive influence
While the overall impact of Uber’s mobility services(4) on eating is generally neutral, to the extent that Uber provides greater access to obtaining groceries for people without private cars, those services could have a positive impact on eating.
In addition, Uber, through its Uber Health division, has created the ability for health providers to send tailored grocery deliveries to patients.(5)
PHYSICAL ACTVITY
neutral to slight negative influence
Uber’s impact on physical activity results from the mix of transportation modes – from very inactive (ridesharing) to more active (pedal bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters) – employed by its users. The vast majority of transportation taken by Uber users is by automobile. Uber offers access to Lime e-bikes and e-scooters, which involve more physical activity than being driven, in the cities in which Lime’s services are available.(6) Note that Building H’s consumer research showed that only approximately 4% of rideshare users used shared bikes and 5% used shared scooters at least monthly.(7)
Uber’s rideshare service offers a remarkably frictionless experience and makes hailing a ride -- for trips of any distance -- fast and convenient. As such it displaces more active modes of transportation, namely walking, bicycling, scootering or even using public transportation, which often involves walking and standing. Building H’s consumer research(8) showed that approximately 25% of rideshare trips displaced walking, biking or using public transportation, consistent with another study on that question.(9)
A positive effect of this convenient experience is the impact Uber has on reducing the need for private car ownership. Owners of private cars have been shown to be less likely to substitute active modes of transportation for short trips than people who do not own their own vehicles. Data from Lyft suggests that 38% of their riders do not own or lease personal vehicles, which would likely be the case for Uber’s riders as well.(10) Note, however, that Building H’s consumer research shows a smaller impact on personal vehicle ownership, with nearly 78% of rideshare users indicating that they continued to own personal vehicles.(11)
Uber’s rideshare service could be used to access recreational facilities, such as gyms, sports fields, or hiking trails. We do not have information on what share of rides are used for these purposes.
- Expand availability of bike and scooter services and use the platform to nudge, recommend or otherwise preference bike and scooter use in appropriate circumstances (e.g. based on distance, weather, safety) and taking into account individual abilities. Examples include increasing rates for shorter trips and prompting users to consider more active modes for short trips.
- Integrate walking and public transit directions into the service.
Sleeping
neutral influence
Uber’s impact on sleep is indirect. To the extent that use of Uber’s services results in a net reduction in physical activity and a net reduction in outdoor time (see below), those behaviors are associated with reduced sleep.
On the positive side, if Uber’s services save time, they could conceivably free up time for more sleep.(12) Reductions in daily travel time have been correlated with more sleep time.(13)
Engaging Socially
slight to moderate positive influence
To the extent that Uber facilitates people leaving their homes by providing multiple low-cost transportation options, it could lead to both intentional social activities and casual social interactions.
Uber’s primary rideshare service results in varied interactions between driver and passenger, ranging from total silence to engaging conversation. The mutual rating system creates incentives for positive interactions. UberX Share creates even more opportunity for casual interaction, subject to the same caveat -- passengers can choose not to interact with one another. Building H’s consumer research has shown that more than 63% of rideshare users (not specific to Uber) describe their social interactions with drivers and other riders as positive or very positive. (Only 11% described these interactions as negative or very negative.)(14) Uber has recently announced a partnership with Waymo to provide rides with driverless, autonomous vehicles in one market, an approach that eliminates any social interaction during a ride.(15)
The increased transportation access made possible by Uber can also reduce social isolation of people who would otherwise have limited access to transportation. Research has found that older adults who recently became nondrivers were twice as likely to be more socially isolated than those who had not been driving for a longer time.(16) A study of seniors with chronic disease who were given access to Lyft reported less social isolation and greater quality of life.(17) Uber has partnered with third-party organizations that use Uber’s services to provide greater access to transportation for seniors and people with disabilities.(18)
The open-air nature of its bike and scooter modes makes it easier for riders to see, recognize, and stop to greet other people along the way than if they were traveling by car.
- Experiment with creating opportunities to match “favorite” riders or drivers to promote ongoing relationships.
- Provide drivers and riders prompts/texts for interesting and engaging conversation topics, subject to opt out options for those who would prefer quiet rides.
- Give preference to UberX Share rides in the platform
Getting Outdoors
neutral to slight positive influence
Uber’s access to e-bike and e-scooter services certainly supports being outdoors -- and to the extent that these services substitute for car rides, they have a positive influence.
Although it can be used to access outdoor activities, Uber’s rideshare service, by offering a convenient alternative to walking, biking, or scootering (or even walking to a bus or train), presumably reduces time spent outside, and far more of its users choose rideshare over bike and scooter trips.
- Offer discounted rides to outdoor destinations such as public parks.
- Pursuing opportunities noted above to give preference to walking, biking, scootering or use of public transit could also lead to more outdoor time.
Notes
“Micromobility” refers to a range of personal vehicles ridden at speeds of approximately 15 mph or less.
Sign up for Uber One Membership. Uber website, accessed November 29, 2023.
Felim McGrath. The Demographics of Uber's US Users. Global Web Index. August 16, 2017.
Uber Eats is profiled separately.
Bruce Japsen. Uber’s Health Business Adds Grocery And OTC Product Delivery. Forbes. June 13, 2023.
Lime’s services are available in approximately 50-60 US cities. See Find Lime Cities and Regions. Lime website.
Steve Downs. A Survey of Modern Life: Mobility. Building H on Medium. January 12, 2022.
Downs (2022).
One study has indicated that 15-28% of rideshare trips displaced walking, biking or use of public transit. Union of Concerned Scientists. Ride-Hailing’s Climate Risks. February 2020.
Lyft. Lyft Economic Impact Report 2021, p. 20.
Downs (2022)
Lyft has reported that its riders have saved 135 million hours compared to other travel modem although it is not clear what the average daily time saving is for each rider. We do not have access to comparable data from Uber. See Lyft. Lyft Economic Impact Report 2021. p. 19.
Mathias Basner et al. American Time Use Survey: Sleep Time and Its Relationship to Waking Activities. Sleep. Volume 30, Issue 9 (September 2007), pp. 1085–1095.
Downs (2022)
Dara Khosrowshahi. Autonomous rides are arriving on Uber with Waymo. Uber Newsroom website. October 26, 2023.
Weidi Chin et al. Driving Cessation and Social Isolation in Older Adults. Journal of Aging and Health. Volume 32, Issue 9 (2019), pp. 962-971.
Leslie Saxon et al. Health Impacts of Unlimited Access to Networked Transportation in Older Adults. The Journal of mHealth. August 13, 2019.
Combating social isolation through enabling access to care. Uber Blog. July 12, 2022.