Here's How Many People Are Going Back On Uber App Now That Travis Kalanick Is Gone
Some former Uber customers are willing to use the ride-hailing service again now that former CEO Travis Kalanick has left the company, a survey by Morning Consult found.
The survey was conducted between June 15-21 on 1,652 Uber users. On June 21, Kalanick stepped down from his position as Uber CEO after pressure from investors. His resignation follows the end of an internal investigation into the company led by former Attorney General Eric Holder. The probe was launched after a former employee wrote a blog post detailing her sexual harassment experience at Uber.
Read: Who Will Be Uber’s Next CEO? The Search Is On Following Travis Kalanick's Departure
Will Customers Come Back To Uber?
After respondents saw headlines about numerous scandals at Uber, 23 percent of respondents said the news made them stop using the app as frequently. The revelations also pushed some Uber users completely off the platform, as 19 percent of survey participants said they deleted the app afterwards, while 13 percent said they stopped using the app but didn’t delete it altogether.
Now that Kalanick has departed from Uber, some customers who stopped using the app before might come back.
Respondents who stopped using Uber or didn’t use it as frequently were asked: “Which of the following, if any, would most cause you to use Uber once again, or use it as often as you once did?”
Price for rides was the winner, at 35 percent, but 28 percent said the firing of Kalanick and installing new leadership would get them back on the app. The survey found 18 percent said they would return if Uber stepped up on data privacy and 14 percent said nothing would make them go back to using the ride-hailing service.
Uber Users Are Aware Of Company Scandals
Besides sexual allegations, Uber was hit by other numerous scandals this year. In February, the New York Times released a report shedding light into Uber’s toxic work culture. It detailed instances of cocaine use, homophobic verbal abuse and harassment at the company.
The ride-hailing service is currently in a legal dispute with Waymo over self-driving technology information. Waymo sued Uber earlier this year claiming Uber benefited from stolen self-driving car technology from the Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google.
Read: Uber Waymo Lawsuit: Court Filing Reveals Travis Kalanick Knew Fired Engineer Had Google Information
Uber was under fire this year after a video surfaced of Kalanick arguing with a driver. The company also found itself in trouble with the Department of Justice after the revelation of Uber’s use of its Greyball tool, which collected data to evade authorities and operate its services illegally. Furthermore, the company was affected by the #deleteUber campaign earlier this year, which took off after President Donald Trump introduced his travel ban.
The survey found customers are aware of what is going on at the company, as 57 percent respondents said they mostly heard about bullying, sexism and sexual harassment at the company. The scandal that was least heard about was the #DeleteUber campaign earlier this year (40 percent).
The survey found Uber users have been aware of other scandals, as 55 percent said they heard about the series of resignations from the company’s top management. Fifty-one percent said they were aware of concerns with Uber’s privacy and security protections when it comes to user data, 49 percent said they heard about the video of Kalanick and the Uber driver, 45 percent said they heard about the Uber-Waymo dispute and 45 percent said they heard about the investigation on the company’s greyball tool.
Scandals aside, Uber customers are still very satisfied with the service. Among participants surveyed, 76 percent said they were satisfied with cost of the service, 79 percent said they were satisfied with the quality of drivers and 80 percent said they were satisfied with pick-up and wait times. Customers were also happy with the app itself, customer service and the number of drivers in the area.
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