Eight years ago in Mexico the concept of getting into a stranger's car was limited to taxis that traveled through the city or the services of private drivers. The mere idea of ​​getting into a stranger's private car was not only laughable, but for many it was dangerous. At least that's how it was until in 2013, a Californian startup whose name still didn't mean anything to the Mexican, made the decision to “try” its luck in the country, specifically in Mexico City; the name was Uber and its presence would transform the concept of mobility forever.

Of those first four employees, one city and a couple of drivers that Uber started with in Mexico, the firm currently boasts more than 800 workers, 70 cities in 27 states and 200,000 “driver partners” and delivery people.

In the framework of its eight-year anniversary, Uber highlights that Mexico has become its third most important market globally, with more than 8 million active users (between Eats and Ride), 35,000 Uber Eats restaurants and an investment of more than 1,500 million dollars.

Despite the impact that the firm has had on the market and Mexican citizens, its arrival has not been without problems and challenges. From strong and violent confrontations against taxi driver unions in various cities of the country, scandals and complaints about bad experiences or accidents by users when using the company's services, to the constant scrutiny of local and federal governments on the responsibility of the company. in front of their “drivers”.

Even so, for Uber, Mexico "is a central part of its history as a company" and a country in which they still have many cities to cover and several investments to execute, according to Andrew Macdonald, vice president of Operations in the Americas. and Uber World Business Development, who spoke in an exclusive interview with Forbes Mexico about the future of the platform in Mexico, the challenges and opportunities that the company sees in the country after the pandemic.

Forbes México (FM): Eight years later, how is Uber doing in Mexico?

Andrew Macdonald (AM): Latin America is an absolutely critical market for Uber in general. It's an area of ​​the world we're passionate about serving because in a market our products fit. Mexico is where we started our operations in Latin America and I think that from my perspective, with 10 years inside Uber, it is one of those countries where the Uber service has really impacted society, creating hundreds of thousands of flexible work opportunities, improving transport options in some of the biggest cities in the world and bringing technology to try to make transport safer, both for people who travel, and for those who earn money on the platform.

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In these eight years we have expanded as much as possible, in large urban centers, but also in small cities, and for this we have invested in the country. We are very proud of the business we have built and the impact we have made. So yes, Mexico means a lot in the history of Uber.

FM: After the pandemic, how does Mexico view Uber? What projects can we expect from the firm?

AM: Clearly as cities come back to life, Uber comes back to life because people start moving again. I think that both the clients and the people who earn on our platform have depended on us more than ever because of the pandemic. We saw a lot of drivers converting to messages on our platform so they can continue to earn money in a very difficult period for the economy and the job market in general.

In the short term we expect cities to move again, people will, to varying degrees, return to offices, go on vacation, go on vacation or travel on business, look for ways to return to some version of what normal. That is why in Mexico, we want to work with companies so that employees arrive and return from the office safely, when they start traveling for business.

And by the same token, we know people need flexible ways to make a living. Going forward you will see that at Uber we are looking to bring drivers and delivery people back to the platform, today earnings levels in many places are at all-time highs and we have taken steps to make the platform safer for people who want to earn money in a flexible way. So a lot of our investments will be focused on that side of the market.

FM: Is there anything you haven't achieved in these 8 years that will be critical for the firm in the next eight?

AM: The most important thing is that there are still many places in the country where our service still doesn't work. So I think continued geographic expansion to all regions, all states, all cities and Mexico is definitely a priority for us, there are many places that need the economic opportunity that Uber provides.

Markets where tourism is a critical part of the economy, we can play a role for businesses and individuals. We want to be all over Mexico and that's why the Uber team continues to work to partner with local governments and bring Uber to those places. I am confident that in the coming months, we will make some announcements about new releases.

FM: Will we continue to see from Uber these multimillion-dollar investments that the firm has made in Mexico in the following months?

AM: The concrete answer is that we will continue to invest. I don't have any specific announcement right now, but in our eight years in Mexico we have invested close to 1.5 billion dollars. This is a place that has been, as I mentioned, vital in Uber's growth story and is a critical part of our long-term plans.

And when I talk about long-term plans, I don't mean 12 or 18 months, I'm talking about 10-year plans. At Uber we want to help advance the Mexican economy, formalize, digitize, bring more people into the workforce, bring more women into the workforce, make it a friendlier place for tourists and for companies.

So yeah, we're going to continue to invest and maybe we'll invest to help owners, maybe upgrade their vehicle or invest in restaurants to help them grow their business. So we're going to invest and make sure that consumers have access to as many services as possible.

FM: For Uber, the status of driver and delivery partners continues to be a topic of global discussion. In Mexico, the Ministry of Labor recently specifically said that it intends to regulate jobs in the so-called "gig economy." What does this topic mean for Uber? Have you already had dialogues with the Mexican government?

AM: The first thing I would say and I want to be very clear on this is that the people who make money on our platform are the heart of our business model. And just to contextualize said, we have more than 200,000 people who depend on our platform in Mexico. Their families depend on our platform to help put food on the table. They are people who are benefiting from the economic opportunities that our technology makes available to them.

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When you think about the future of work, the future of the gig economy or whatever you want to call it, I think it's really important first and foremost to ask the people who live or make money on these platforms what they want and they need. We at Uber have heard time and again from delivery people and drivers in Mexico and Latin America that what they want is to remain independent, because they value flexibility, they value being their own boss, and working where and when they want.

But we know the gig economy isn't perfect, and we're working on how we can provide protections and benefits for flexible working without losing what people love about flexible work.

If we can get it right, then we can have the best of both worlds. People want to be their own boss and if you look at how users used our platforms during the pandemic it is clear: the unemployed or underemployed of the world, who were looking to earn extra or put money on their table, turned to flexible work platforms like Uber .

And of course it's a complex issue that's why we have to work with governments, drivers and labor groups to define a structure that works. And of course here, we have engaged with the different levels of the Mexican government, just as we are engaging with governments around the world to try to come up with a better model in the future.

FB: What is the future of a firm like Uber as mobility around the world transforms?

AM: The future of mobility is very exciting, not just from Uber's perspective, but globally. We believe that technology has a role to play in making every time someone leaves their home, office or looking to go anywhere a better journey. At Uber I am convinced that we are in a unique position to touch every aspect of mobility, from the transit of a city, cars, taxis, public transport, to micro mobility such as bicycles and scooters or even understand how it works. the parking infrastructure and bring our experience to all these verticals, the vast majority of which operate without the benefits of technology. It's a vision that takes us to a place where all transportation is powered by Uber, which is why we want to play across every part of the ecosystem spectrum.