The CEO of Uber is encouraging customers to book bicycles instead of cars for short urban trips, even if that costs his company.

"During rush hour, it is very inefficient for a one-tonne hulk of metal to take one person 10 blocks," Dara Khosrowshahi told the Financial Times ahead his anniversary as CEO.

Khosrowshahi has used his first year at Uber to start offering customers transportation options beyond cars.

Uber launched an electric bike option in February in San Francisco, and has since expanded the offering to a handful of other American cities. In April, the company announced that it had acquired electric bike-share startup Jump Bikes.

The expansion is about more than just bicycles: A new electric scooter option will soon be available in San Francisco and other cities.

"There's a $6 trillion mobility market, and no one product is going to be serving that whole market," Khosrowshahi told the Financial Times.

The CEO acknowledged that emphasizing bikes and scooters at the expense of cars was likely to hurt sales. But he said it was better in the long run to give users options.

"We're able to shape behavior in a way that's a win for the user. It's a win for the city. Short-term financially, maybe it's not a win for us, but strategically, long term we think that is exactly where we want to head," he said.

Uber drivers are even coming around to the idea, he said.

Khosrowshahi said drivers see that bicycles would reduce demand for short rides, leaving them to complete longer, more lucrative journeys.

"When I've spoken to our driver partners about it, the first impression was, why are you bringing in a bike to compete against me?" he said. "The second impression after the conversation is, 'Oh, I get a longer ride where I can make more money? Sign me up.' "

Uber said last month that it had seen real changes resulting from its trial of electric bikes.

New riders taking a spin on its electric bikes in San Francisco are more likely to continue riding the bikes instead of hopping in one of its cars. The greatest shift away from cars occurred each weekday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., when traffic congestion is at its worst.

 

(https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/27/technology/uber-ceo-jump-bikes/index.html, accessed 21 September 2018)

http://jakartaglobe.id/news/character-key-success-john-riady/

 

 

Higher education won't guarantee you will become a successful person, but genuine character will, John Riady, the director of BeritaSatu Media Holdings, said.

 

Speaking during a session at Creativepreneur Corner, a day-long talk show and networking event for aspiring young entrepreneurs in Jakarta on Saturday (04/02), John underlined character as the key to success, rather than an expensive education from overseas universities.

 

Graduates even of Ivy League universities still have to develop a genuine character if they want to stay relevant and nimble in facing massive changes in the global economy, according to John.

"People from simple families who can't afford an overseas education can still be a success as long as they have character," John said during a talk show titled "The Ultimate Experience Talk Show."

 

John, also a Lippo Group director, said true character will give you the ability to see changes in the global economy and adapt your business with the latest technology.

 

To get a company to stay relevant with its customers, the business leader must stay in touch with the latest technology, John said, adding that the most important thing for the leader to do is consider the direct impact of technology to the customers.

 

As an example, John cited Lippo Group's investment in app-based ride-hailing platform Grab, which was agreed in the middle of last year.

 

John said Grab has had a direct impact on the customers of Lippo Group, Indonesia’s largest consumer service companies group, by boosting its technology reform.

 

"We've developed several strategic products that will make this [partnership with Grab] a success since [Grab] is very relevant with people's needs at the moment," John said.

 

Aside from character, John said good old hard work is also crucial for everyone wanting to get ahead in business and in life.

 

John told audience at the talk show he once worked as a part-time staff at an American fast food restaurant on Jalan Thamrin in Central Jakarta during a school holiday in 1999, an invaluable experience which showed him what it was really like to be a worker.