Uber has announced plans to focus on its electric scooter and bike business over cars.
The taxi app’s chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, told the Financial Times that individual modes of transport are more suited to inner-city travel.
“During rush hour, it is very inefficient for a one-ton hulk of metal to take one person 10 blocks,” he said.
“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.”
The Uber boss admitted that the move would lead to a short-term loss for the company.
The group lost $4.5 billion (£3.5 billion) last year and plans to go public in 2019.
Khosrowshahi said that whilst Uber will make less money from a bike ride compared to car journey, he expects the cost to be offset by customers using the app for bike journeys much more frequently.
“I’ve found in my career that engagement over the long term wins wars and sometimes it’s worth it to lose battles in order to win wars.”
Uber has invested in a number of bike firms over the last year including Jump electric bikes, which are available in US cities including New York and Washington.
The group acquired Jump bikes in April for $200 million (£155 million).
“We’re committed to bringing together multiple modes of transportation within the Uber app – so that you can choose the fastest or most affordable way to get where you’re going, whether that’s in an Uber, on a bike, on the subway, or more,” said Khosrowshahi at the time.
The bike-sharing market is growing by an estimated 20 percent a year and by 2020 is expected to be worth between €3.6 billion (£3.1 billion) and €5.3 billion.
In June, Westminster overturned a ban on Uber and granted a 15-month licence to operate in the capital.
