Hit by controversies, Uber pledges to be more friendly

Ride-hailing giant, Uber, is making effort to become a more humane company after a number of recent controversies. Uber in a media chat on Tuesday, addressed cases of alleged sexual harassment within the company as well as video of CEO Travis Kalanick, getting into a verbal confrontation with a driver.

Speaking during the call, the head of Uber’s operations in the United States, and Canada, Rachel Holt, said that the controversies have yet to damage its business and that ridership in the U.S. continues to grow.

Uber’s customers and partners in Nigeria have raised issues relating to poor handling of payment and security. Its drivers in Abuja, who went on strike, recently said the drivers no longer record profit as a result of high cost of fuel and the low fares Uber charged riders.

They maintained that thorough identity check of riders and their locations was needed, so as not to put the drivers in harm’s way. Kalanick was suspiciously absent from the conference call but company representatives say he was busy conducting interviews for a chief operating officer, to offer him help running the company, reports The Detroit News.

In recent months, reports have emerged that Kalanick created a “boorish” and male-focused workplace culture at Uber, and following coverage of his altercation with a driver, the 40-year-old said he would find a CFO and admitted he needed to grow up.

Discussing Kalanick, Uber’s only female board member, Arianna Huffington, said that he “started as a scrappy entrepreneur and now he needs to bring the changes in himself and in the way he leads. I am personally a big believer in leaders and companies being allowed to evolve. “