Chastened Uber CEO Seeks Fresh Start for Ride Services in Europe Uber's chief executive promised to create 50,000 new jobs this year across Europe in cities that are willing to reach deals to help his firm operate.

By Reuters

This story originally appeared on Reuters

Uber

The chief executive of controversial online ride-sharing company Uber stuck a newly conciliatory tone on Sunday, promising to create 50,000 new jobs this year across Europe in cities that are willing to reach deals to help his firm operate.

"We want to make 2015 the year where we establish a new partnership with EU cities," Uber co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick told attendees at the DLD conference in Munich, Germany's largest annual gathering of media and tech leaders.

Four-year-old Uber, which helps users summon taxi-like services on their smartphones, has drawn a firestorm of criticism, even as it has continued to expand rapidly into more than 250 cities worldwide.

In Europe, where it offers a range of local transportation options from professional limousine services to informal ride-sharing options, Uber has been hit with court injunctions in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain for violating taxi licensing rules.

Kalanick said Uber had created thousands of full- and part-time driving jobs in cities where it is running. To mayors who reach deals to free up Uber's ride-sharing service to operate, he pledged: "We can promise you 10,000 jobs in four years."

"At the end of 2015, if we can make these partnerships happen, we create 50,000 new EU jobs," he said, referring to the equivalent number of full-time jobs. Uber's mobile phone application connects private drivers to passengers seeking local rides.

Uber, now the world's most highly valued venture-backed start-up, worth upwards of $41 billion (35.5 billion euros), has faced regulatory scrutiny and court injunctions from its earliest days as a San Francisco start-up.

It has also come under fire for its aggressive response to rivals and critics as well as questions over whether the company has enough safeguards in place to ensure the physical safety and privacy of passengers using its services.

A woman who was allegedly raped by an Uber taxi driver in India's capital has hired a prominent lawyer to sue the online-hailing taxi service in U.S. courts. Uber faces mounting complaints about its use of "surge pricing" to attract drivers at peak demand periods. Some critics go further, arguing that Uber's system may drive down the prices drivers can charge for their services in the long-run.

Kalanick has previously been an outspoken opponent of local government regulation. He frequently decries what he says is red-tape and regulation that protects entrenched taxi industry interests and which is designed to block transport alternatives.

(Reporting By Jörn Poltz in Munich; Writing by Eric Auchard in Frankfurt; Editing by Rosalind Russell)

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

'I Was Called Crazy': This 27-Year-Old's Side Hustle Hit $30,000 a Month in Under a Year — Now It's Worth Millions

Changing regulations forced Angel Rodriguez's jet ski rental company to shut down, and the young entrepreneur had to figure out his next move — fast.

Health & Wellness

The Secret Weapon for Entrepreneurs Who are Battling Burnout

Take control of your stress and sharpen your focus with Harmony Hypnosis for half off.

Side Hustle

This 31-Year-Old Spends 2 Hours Per Week On His $3,000-a-Month Passive Income Side Hustle: 'Trust Your Vision'

Hansel Moore's home office "wasn't cutting it" — so he found another place to be creative.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Social Media

AI Is Transforming the Workplace — Including Social Media Marketing. Here's How Businesses Can Actually Use It.

Artificial intelligence is transforming social media management for small and medium-sized businesses, helping them enhance scalability, improve cost efficiency and build stronger customer relationships.

Business Solutions

Get a Lifetime of Powerful PDF Tools That Won't Give You a PDF Headache

Banish frustrating PDF issues forever and just breeze through all of the old problems with editing, formatting, converting, annotating and more.