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Controversial ride sharing service Uber plans to invest as much as $1 billion to expand into the Chinese market in the next year, according to Financial Times. This comes as the company’s drivers are near revolt over the difficult conditions that they feel they work under and the company’s failure to always pay them.
The Financial Times has revealed a letter from Uber head Travis Kalanick to investors in which he called China their, “number one priority.”
“To put it frankly, China represents one of the largest untapped opportunities for Uber, potentially larger than the US, ” he added.
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To that end, the company is also calling on its drivers in China to avoid confrontations there. “Please don’t wreck the good urban environment you have all worked so hard to help build, ” Uber warned its drivers in Hangzhou, China. “If you are at the scene, leave immediately.”
FT also reported that Uber is nearing the 1 million ride per day in the world’s largest nation.
“Our riders are completing almost 1 million trips per day and the business has doubled in the last month, ” Kalanick wrote.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reported that Uber drivers in London are fed up with poor working conditions and are talking about possibly unionizing. The drivers complained about abusive passengers and asserted that Uber does not always pay them.
Uber driver Nizam Uddin, called for Uber all drivers to unite.
“Remember, we are the assets of the company and if we are not valued and we get the drivers together, does Uber really think it can operate?” he said. “We need to get our drivers together, make a voice for ourselves.”
