The popular ride-sharing service Uber has hit a milestone that nobody can argue with: one billion trips.
For those who have been following along, that’s in under six years since Uber began offering its services. To celebrate this momentous occasion, the company will be gifting basically everyone involved in the one billionth trip.
“Marvin and Ara just made our day,” begins Uber’s blog announcing the giant number of trips. “Their £5 London uberX ride together on Christmas Eve from London Fields, Hackney to Hoxton in Ara’s blue Honda Insight Hybrid was the billionth Uber trip.”
Both Marvin and Ara are likely to remember that quick jaunt for some time.
Marvin, the rider, is getting a year of Uber rides on the company’s dime. Ara, the “driver-partner” of Uber’s that actually gave the ride, gets a vacation on Uber to a destination of their choice — though it seems there’s a stipulation that it must be an “Uber” city, which ostensibly means it’s limited to those places where Uber operates at current.
However, it’s not just the two folks involved with the actual ride who will reap the benefits of Uber’s continued success. The community of Hackney, where the trip began, will also be getting a gift. Well, more a “charitable donation” and less a gift. Uber’s set to make a donation to Hackney Pirates, a charity focusing on developing “the literacy, confidence, and perseverance of young people aged 9-12 across the borough of Hackney[.]”
It’s unclear what kind of monetary value is put on those rewards, and what exactly they intend to donate to Hackney Pirates, but it’s still something rather than nothing. The company’s blog post doesn’t specify whether the one billion trips includes all possible services under Uber, but it seems likely. When you’re adding up to one billion, why exclude anything?
Via: TechCrunch
