2008
Uber founders Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp have the idea of ‘UberCabs’ while waiting for a taxi in Paris.
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The Impact of Uber in the European Union
Economic Impact Report 2024
Executive Summary
In 2008, a taxi journey through Paris inspired Uber’s founders to launch the company. This decision catalysed a new wave of logistics and transport apps that have changed the way we live and fundamentally transformed Europe’s economy. In total, we estimate that ride-sharing and food delivery apps contribute €74 billion to the European Union every year, creating income earning opportunities for an estimated 1.6 million workers.1
Economy
By creating a more convenient way of travelling around cities and connecting with local merchants, the Uber and Uber Eats apps are generating significant spillover benefits for drivers, delivery partners, local businesses, shops, restaurants and hotels. This in turn helps the EU’s economy to grow.
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bn
Uber Eats stimulates additional demand for merchants.
We estimate that every year Uber Eats creates €1.7 billion in revenue for restaurants & retailers in the EU that they would not have earned through other channels.
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bn
The Uber app improves the experience of tourists visiting European cities.
By removing the language barrier, introducing a layer of trust and familiarity, and ultimately boosting urban mobility, we estimate that every year ride-sharing creates €2.6 billion for the tourism industry in the EU.
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m
Uber gives people the confidence to stay out later, supporting the EU’s night-time economy.
Overall, we estimate that ride-sharing apps create €650 million of additional annual revenue for the night-time economy in the EU.
Drivers & Delivery Partners
For many drivers and delivery partners, Uber provides an important source of flexible income that has helped them adapt to rising living costs. Uber provides earning opportunities for millions of drivers and delivery partners in the EU.
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bn
Uber supports drivers and delivery partners amid rising living costs. We estimate that drivers and delivery partners earn almost €6.2 billion a year in income through the Uber and Uber Eats apps.
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%
Uber offers flexible earning opportunities that allow drivers and delivery partners to balance education, entrepreneurship and work. Half (51%) of drivers and delivery partners said that the additional income provided by apps has allowed them to cover rising costs.
Transforming Mobility
By allowing people to utilise their smartphones to take charge of their mobility, app-based ride-share and delivery services have forever changed the way in which people interact with their local area. In our polling, users particularly appreciated Uber’s reliability and price transparency.
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in 10
Uber provides a convenient transport option, generating additional value for consumers. 9 in 10 respondents said that reliability and price transparency were important factors for using the service.
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m
Uber helps people to get to where they need to be on time. We estimate that the Uber app saves Europeans 48 million hours of unnecessary travel time every year, worth €379 million to the economy.
Community
Uber’s innovations offer European residents safe and sustainable mobility options. Its initiatives across the EU are working to ensure Uber’s community of users, particularly women, feel confident when they travel with the Uber app, or order through Uber Eats.
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in 2
Uber has revolutionised transport safety features for riders, drivers and delivery partners. Across our polling, 1 in 2 riders agreed that Uber is often the safest way for them to travel home – particularly late at night.
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%
Uber complements, and in some places compensates for a lack of, public transport infrastructure. 75% of riders said that the lack of public transport options is an important reason for using the Uber app, and 69% of riders had used the Uber app to connect to another mode of transport.
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m
Uber supports riders, drivers and delivery partners to make more sustainable choices. Uber’s business model helps to reduce congestion by promoting carpooling and ride-sharing. By offering a reliable alternative to owning a car, we estimate that Uber has helped take 3 million cars off the road across the EU.
Introduction
The Platform Economy has helped to catalyse growth across Europe’s cities
On a winter’s evening in 2008, Travis Kalanick and Garret Camp struggled to find a taxi to travel across Paris. The experience prompted them to consider the potential of emerging smartphone technologies to more efficiently link riders to drivers. They went on to found Uber.
In the decades since, Uber’s platform-based model has expanded to include food and grocery delivery – and inspired the creation of many successful European tech companies, such as Bolt, Glovo, Stuart, and Gorillas.
Economists have long known the power of agglomeration to drive higher productivity and wages. The easier it is for people to connect with their local area, the more an economy grows. And, while this effect can come from building new infrastructure, it can also be the result of new technologies that make a city flow better.
Across Europe, the platform economy has:
Made it easier to connect people with local businesses.
Helping to drive additional revenue for local businesses, and making cities more enjoyable and convenient for their residents.
Increased safety and trust.
By taking advantage of technologies from GPS to consumer-based star ratings, the platform economies helped give consumers in Europe more confidence in travelling about at night or to areas where public transport doesn’t reach.
Provided millions of people a flexible way to earn extra income.
Making it possible to earn additional income on the side, or balance platform economy work with other responsibilities such as learning or parenthood.
In total, we estimate that the ride-sharing and food delivery apps create €74 billion in economic value every year, and offer income earning opportunities for 1.6 million workers. This is equivalent to the total GDP of Luxembourg. This is made up of €57 billion of direct, indirect and induced effects, and an additional €17 billion of downstream induced market activity.
It has also made life better for Europeans – and particularly those who live in cities. In our polling, Uber riders pointed to the arrival of ride-sharing services as the most important transport innovation they had seen in the last fifteen years.
In this report, Uber commissioned Public First to better understand and quantify the impact the Uber and Uber Eats apps have for consumers, drivers and delivery partners, merchants and communities across the EU.
We used a mixture of methods to explore Uber’s impact:
- An in-depth nationally representative consumer poll to explore European travel and food ordering habits.
- An anonymous survey of over 1430 drivers and delivery partners on Uber, asking them about their experience and the reasons why they chose the Uber platform.
- New quantitative models of the economic impact, time saved, consumer surplus and driver value created by Uber and the wider platform economy, building off the data from Public First’s poll, data provided by Uber and official statistics from Eurostat.
Timeline
2011
Uber launches in Paris, its first European city.
2016
Uber Eats launches in Europe.
2020
Uber launches its sustainability commitment to be a zero-emission platform in Europe by 2030.
2024
Nearly 1 in every 5 kilometers driven on Uber, in Europe, are all-electric.
2024
Over 1 million European drivers, delivery partners and restaurant owners earn on the Uber platform.
Economy
By connecting consumers, drivers and businesses, Uber drives economic value across the EU
Ride-sharing and food delivery apps have revolutionised the way consumers, drivers, restaurants and merchants interact ‒ making it far easier for consumers to connect with the service they need and creating easy access to the market for businesses and drivers. This is helping to drive economic growth in the EU whilst providing a source of income for millions of drivers and businesses.
Revenue generated by the Uber and Uber Eats apps is part of Uber’s economic footprint. Value is also created through the additional spending power of drivers and delivery partners, additional earnings of restaurants, and the supply chain activity associated with these incomes. Taking this into account, we estimate that Uber supports €18 billion of additional economic value to the EU.
Ride-sharing apps such as Uber deliver further secondary effects on the economy through additional spending. We estimate that every €1 spent on ride-sharing apps creates an additional €1.10 of economic value for local businesses through supply chain effects, induced spending and connecting people to secondary markets. Similarly, every €1 spent on food delivery apps creates €1.13 of spillover value to local restaurants and their suppliers.
By including these downstream economic effects we estimate that Uber’s total economic impact in the EU rises to €24 billion. More broadly, we estimate that the total economic impact of ride-sharing and food delivery apps to the EU economy, including downstream effects, is €74 billion.
Uber Eats stimulates additional demand for Merchants
By increasing the accessibility of physical goods, food delivery apps generate additional economic value for other EU businesses such as restaurants and shops. Food delivery platforms boost the ability of restaurants and merchants to serve a greater number of customers in a number of ways:
Diverse Income:
Restaurants and retailers benefit from additional revenue streams without having to expand their physical footprint and related costs. This can sustain businesses during off-peak hours or when their physical capacity reaches its limits.
More Orders:
Apps like Uber Eats provide customers with the convenience of ordering from their favourite restaurants and retailers without leaving their homes. This can lead to increased order frequency and higher sales volumes for merchants.
New Customers:
Merchants can reach more customers via the Uber Eats app. Users scroll through a variety of different providers, discovering new businesses in the process. This is particularly useful for SMEs that may not have the resources for extensive marketing campaigns.
Logistical Support:
The Uber Eats app handles logistics, such as order processing and delivery. This allows staff to focus on food preparation and in-house customer service. This can lead to more efficient operations and better overall customer experience.
Data Insights:
Restaurants and retailers gain access to valuable data on customer preferences, peak ordering times and popular items. Merchants can use these insights to optimise their offers, improve customer service, and tailor their business strategy to better meet customer needs.
According to our research:
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%
of Uber Eats users said they have ordered from a restaurant on the Uber Eats app they had not dined at in person.
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%
of Uber Eats users said they have discovered one of their favourite local restaurants through the app.
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%
of EU consumers said food delivery apps had made it easier to discover new restaurants.
By leveraging the reach, convenience, and operational support of food delivery apps, merchants can enhance their revenue potential and grow their businesses more effectively. We estimate that the Uber Eats app creates €1.7 billion in additional value for merchants per year that would not be earned without Uber Eats or other food delivery apps.
Uber is essential to tourists visiting European cities
Tourists now heavily rely on ride-sharing apps as they explore new places. This is in part because using a ride-sharing app alleviates concerns about the language barrier or carrying cash when ordering a taxi abroad. Uber’s trusted relationship with international users therefore means it is often a go-to transport option when visiting Europe’s landmarks.
Of the EU adults who responded to our survey:
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%
of riders said that using the Uber app gives them greater confidence to travel on their own.
0
million
tourist trips were made to or from tourist attractions using the Uber app.
This contributes to increased footfall for tourist attractions such as historical sites, galleries, museums, and amusement parks – connecting these businesses to visitors’ spending power. We therefore estimate that ride-sharing creates an additional €2.6 billion for the tourism industry annually, supporting millions of journeys.
Uber Boat launches across Europe
In July 2024, Uber launched a water transport service in Venice that lets customers use the Uber app to summon a ‘Limo Boat’ on-demand to get around the Venetian Lagoon at the tap of a button. In Greece, Uber Boat expanded from Mykonos to Athens, Corfu, and Santorini and those visiting Paris can jump aboard an all-electric boat to enjoy an Uber Cruise, a free one-hour private tour down the river Seine with their friends and family.
Uber gives people the confidence to stay out later, supporting the EU’s night-time economy
Ride-sharing apps have transformed the way Europeans experience nights out. Individuals now have the confidence to stay out with friends and family, in the knowledge that they have a reliable means of getting home.
Uber offers a particularly important option when individuals would rather leave their car at home.
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%
of riders said they are more confident staying out late due to Uber.
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%
of riders had experienced a situation where Uber was the only way to get home late at night.
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%
of riders reported using the Uber app after consuming alcohol.
This is ultimately to the benefit of the restaurants, bars and entertainment venues that enjoy customer patronage for longer. Overall, we estimate that the Uber app creates over €650 million of additional annual revenue for the night-time economy in the EU.
What are the most important reasons why you normally use the Uber app?
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Drivers & Delivery Partners
Uber supports drivers and delivery partners amid rising living costs
The cost of living is rising across the EU. While inflation has started to recently slow to around 2% in some EU countries, 93% of Europeans still identify the rising cost of living as their most pressing worry.23 Uber therefore provides an important source of flexible income that has helped drivers and delivery partners to adapt to these financial pressures.
Last year, the Uber and Uber Eats apps supported over a million people across the EU to access and earn additional income in a way that suits their lifestyle. We estimate that drivers and delivery partners earn almost €6.2 billion a year in income through the Uber and Uber Eats apps, and approximately €1.3 billion more annual income through the Uber and Uber Eats platforms compared to their next best alternative.
This is corroborated by the results of our driver and delivery partner survey:
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%
of drivers and delivery partners agree that apps like Uber and Uber Eats can help people cover their bills during the cost of living crisis.
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%
of drivers and delivery partners agree that rising costs were the main reason behind their decision to explore earning opportunities through the Uber or Uber Eats app.
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%
of drivers and delivery partners agree that operating on the Uber or Uber Eats apps helped them get through a period of unemployment after being made redundant.
What do you like about driving through the Uber app?4
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Uber helps drivers and delivery partners balance education, entrepreneurship and income
Schedule flexibility is one of the most important reasons that drivers and delivery partners decide to drive or deliver through the Uber app, allowing individuals to choose how and when to work and balance their different commitments as it suits them.
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%
of drivers and delivery partners said that being their own boss was an important reason they chose to drive or deliver for Uber.
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%
of drivers and delivery partners said that schedule flexibility was an important reason they chose to drive or deliver for Uber.
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%
of drivers and delivery partners said that they balance driving and delivery with other sources of personal income.
This flexibility allows drivers and delivery partners to explore other opportunities, including further education and pursuing their own entrepreneurial ambitions.
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%
of drivers and delivery partners said that additional income provided by apps allowed them to learn a new skill or pay for education.
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%
of part-time drivers and delivery partners said they have more time for personal projects because of the flexibility of working with Uber.
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%
of drivers and delivery partners said that app-based work provides the opportunity to grow or start a new business.
Building a community for women earners
Uber has made a €1 million investment in various initiatives geared toward women drivers and delivery partners.
According to 57% of women surveyed, the cost and effort required to obtain the required licences, and the lack of suitable vehicles, prevents them from accessing platform work as a driver. In response, Uber has launched programmes to subsidise the cost of PHV licences, provide discounted access to vehicles, and support women who want to build their own driving business.5
Uber has simultaneously supported the #GigSister programme to help connect, grow and empower the community of women drivers and delivery partners that drive with the Uber platform. GigSister sees Uber teaming up with like-minded partners, including Google and L’Oreal, to uplift and empower women through mental health support, motivation and self-promotion, as well as self-defence training and more. The initiative is currently live in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Poland.
Finally, the app is piloting the “Women Rider Preference” feature in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Romania. This feature allows women drivers and delivery partners to indicate a preference for picking up women riders. Similarly, “Uber by Women” that launched in France in 2024, allows women riders to select women drivers for their journey.
Uber helps drivers and delivery partners spend more time with their families
For those with young children and elderly relatives, Uber provides the flexibility to look after their family whilst still earning a living. We estimate that drivers and delivery partners spend an additional 28 million hours a year looking after their children which they wouldn’t be able to do otherwise.
0
%
of drivers and delivery partners said they spend more time with their children because of the flexibility of working with Uber.
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%
of drivers and delivery partners said that additional income provided by apps allowed them to support family expenses like their children’s education.
What do you like about driving through the Uber app?6
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Transforming Mobility
Uber provides people with a convenient and reliable transport option
Uber has played a significant role in transforming the transportation sector across the EU. By allowing people to utilise their smartphones to take charge of their mobility, ride-share services have forever changed the way in which people get around. According to our research, a staggering 19% of the population makes use of ride-sharing at least once a week.
When asked, Uber riders told us the most important reasons they chose to use the service were Uber’s reliability and price transparency (90%). This was followed by the safety (88%) and convenience (86%) of using the service.
When we asked Uber users to tell us why they used the Uber app in their own words, one word came back more than all others:
easy.
What are the most important reasons why you normally use the Uber app?
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How much value does Uber create for consumers?
One of the most important measures of economic welfare is the consumer surplus – the amount you would have to pay someone for them to voluntarily give a good or service up. If a good has zero consumer surplus, that implies we can take or leave it – whereas goods with a high consumer surplus play an important role in our lives.
As part of their poll, we asked riders and consumers how much they would have to be compensated to lose access to the Uber app for the next month.
We estimate that the total annual consumer surplus created by Uber and Uber Eats together is equal to €32 billion.
Uber helps people to get to where they need to be on time
The convenience of Uber is one of the most important reasons why people use the service. Combined with the comparative speed of ride-share services, this means that Uber is often an attractive option for important or last-minute journeys.
of Uber users said they’ve used the app to get somewhere fast in an emergency.
of Uber users said they’ve used the app to get somewhere on time.
of respondents agreed that riding with Uber is often the quickest way for them to get to their destination.
Fast journeys benefit Europeans in multiple ways, more than just enabling people to get to their destination quickly. We estimate that the Uber app saves Europeans 48 million hours of unnecessary travel time per year. This is worth €380 million to the economy.
The reliability of the service means that, for many, Uber helps them get around in their day-to-day life. Ride-sharing services like Uber provide a key utility for many people as they complete essential journeys.
We estimate that:
0
MILLION
riders per year use the Uber app to move or carry heavy items.
The Uber app is particularly helpful to people in their working lives. Almost half (47%) of respondents told us they had used Uber for work-related travel in the last year, and around a third (29%) told us that they had used the app to commute to or from work in the last year. Half (51%) told us that Uber has made it easier to continue working whilst they are travelling.
Moreover, ride-share services like Uber also enable Europeans to get to the important social and cultural events that help to make everyday life more enjoyable. When we asked Uber users what they had used the service for in the last year, we found that almost two-thirds (62%) had used Uber to get to or from an airport, followed by around half (50%) who had used it to get to or from a party or festival.
Uber improves the lives of the most vulnerable
For some people, getting around can be a particular challenge. The elderly, the sick or injured, and people with longer term mobility challenges can find the ability to enjoy their lives negatively impacted by reduced connectedness and difficulty accessing local amenities. Ride-sharing can be transformative in this situation by making it easier to get around and empowering people to connect with their communities.
People who are sick or injured can find it a challenge to stay connected and able to access services and even the medical care they need. In total, 18 million riders per year in the EU use the Uber app to travel to or from a doctor or hospital.
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%
of Uber riders aged 65+ told us that if ride-sharing apps like Uber didn’t exist, they wouldn’t make similar journeys at all
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%
of Uber riders aged over 65 told us they had used the Uber app to travel to or from a hospital in the last year.
0
%
of Uber riders aged over 65 told us the Uber app gives them greater confidence to travel on their own.
Food delivery apps allow people with mobility issues to enjoy restaurant quality food without having to travel. Those who struggle to cook can have the variety of food they eat limited, something food delivery apps can help to mitigate.
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%
of food delivery app users with limited mobility say that delivery apps have increased the amount of food they order.
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%
of food delivery app users say they use these apps because they have limited mobility.
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%
of food delivery app users with limited mobility say that food delivery apps are a lot more convenient than other forms of takeout.
Uber Eats makes it easier for Europeans to discover new restaurants
Europe is a continent of food lovers. European nations each have distinctive regional and national cuisines that combine to create a thriving food scene. Food delivery platforms like Uber Eats enable Europeans to access high-quality, locally-produced food in a convenient and speedy way.
In our polling, we found that almost two-thirds of Europeans (62%) had ordered food or essential items from a food delivery app in the last year, with 4 in 10 ordering from a food delivery app at least once a month on average.
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%
of EU adults agree that there is a wider choice of restaurants in their local area now than before food delivery apps were introduced.
0
%
of Uber Eats users agree that food delivery apps are a lot more convenient than other forms of takeout.
0
%
of Uber Eats users said that the app has enabled them to order food when they’re unable to cook.
Food delivery apps are more convenient than their alternatives, making it easier for Europeans to enjoy a variety of cuisines. When we asked Uber Eats users why they order food or essential items using food delivery apps, we found that convenience (52%) was the most important reason. This was followed by quick delivery times (51%) and the fact that Europeans were tired of cooking or doing the dishes (40%).
Community
Uber helps to ensure people feel safe when travelling
It is critical that people feel confident navigating their local area – especially when they are on their own or going out late at night. Across our research, safety was one of the main reasons that men and women chose to use ride-sharing apps to reach their destinations.
0
%
of riders said that safety was an important reason they choose to use the Uber app.
0
%
of riders said they felt safe or very safe on their most recent Uber journey.
0
in 2
riders agreed that Uber is often the safest way for them to travel home.
In particular, women of all ages told us that they relied on the Uber app to travel home safely.
What are the most important reasons why you normally use the Uber app?
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Uber has revolutionised transport safety features, for both riders and drivers
As a platform, Uber has developed revolutionary features to help keep riders and drivers safe:
Uber’s Safety Features
GPS Tracking
Each Uber ride is tracked live on maps, allowing passengers to follow the travel route in real time and notice any issues.
Share my Ride
This function allows users to share their trip details including route with a friend or family member.
2-way ratings
Drivers and riders rate each other on the app following the ride, incentivising appropriate behaviour on the part of both.
Emergency Assistance Button
First rolled out in 2015, the feature connects riders and drivers to contact the local police authority while remaining inside the app and automatically alerts regional support teams.
Ridecheck
This feature recognises when a trip takes an unexpected turn or abruptly stops before the rider reaches their intended destination.
PIN Verification
An added safety feature that you can use to make sure you’re getting into the right vehicle.
Driver Background Checks
Introduced in 2015, Uber runs formal background checks, verification of character by the local police and checks to detect fraud in driving and vehicle permits for every new driver.
Uber’s commitment to safety also extends to drivers. In our polling, we found widespread awareness of these features among drivers, and a belief that they were helping keep each ride safer.
Global Safety Charter
In partnership with the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), Uber launched a joint charter to help improve the health and safety of millions of couriers in over 11,000 cities around the world.
The Global Charter on Courier Health and Safety introduces 12 principles that address the unique safety concerns of couriers, especially those who deliver by bike, scooter and motorcycle on the Uber platform.
This includes helping improve couriers’ access to safety equipment, launching in-app road safety features, enhancing interpersonal-safety and mental health support and working with couriers and their representatives to advocate for safe and sustainable standards.
“Couriers play a vital role in everyday life for millions of people, making delivery of almost anything available at the push of a button. We’re proud to be working with the ITF to roll out an industry-leading charter that prioritises the health, safety and wellbeing of everyone who delivers on the Uber platform.”
Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Senior Vice President of Delivery, Uber
Uber complements public transport infrastructure
Uber offers a helpful complement to public transport infrastructure. Respondents reported being an average of 5 minutes walk from their nearest bus stop and 10 minutes from their metro or train stations – with 30% reporting that there is no station at all close to their home. This means that Uber is a helpful alternative when public transport is not available or convenient.
0
%
of EU adults said that public transport is not always very reliable near them.
0
%
of riders said that a lack of public transport options is an important reason for using the Uber app.
0
%
of riders said they had used the Uber app to connect to another mode of transport.
Uber also helps to unlock access to public transport, by supporting riders with their “last mile” journeys. When asked, respondents said that connecting to another mode of transport via the Uber app helped to make their journey quicker and easier.
Uber supports riders, drivers and delivery partners to make more sustainable choices
Uber’s business model helps to reduce congestion by promoting carpooling and ride-sharing. More and more people are choosing not to own their own car, and according to our research, 61% of riders agreed that having access to Uber reduces their need to drive. By making it easier to get by without a car, we estimate that Uber has helped take 3 million cars off the road across the EU.
Uber is also striving to help people move, order meals and send items using options that are more sustainable. The company has committed to becoming a zero-emission mobility platform in the EU by 2030 and, in the first quarter of 2024, 9% of trip miles in Europe were driven by zero-emission vehicles.7
Uber Green launched in the EU in 2020 and offers riders a non-polluting alternative at the same price as a regular Uber X trip.
1
in 5
drivers and delivery partners said that working through the Uber and Uber Eats app had made it more likely for them to own an EV.
1
in 3
EU adults wouldn’t mind paying a little more for a ride from an electric or environmentally friendly vehicle.
Drivers and delivery partners are embracing electric vehicles for a variety of reasons.
Identifying Green Vehicles
In 2020, Uber made a public commitment to phase out carbon emissions in Europe by 2030, and worldwide by 2040. Green Vehicle Identification is a big step in Uber’s mission to phase out carbon emissions on its platform. To address these challenges, Uber developed a scalable architecture that can leverage multiple data sources to determine a vehicle’s engine and fuel type.
This system now powers Uber’s low-emission ride options in major markets and has set the foundation for future expansion. With the instantaneous identification and labelling process, Uber has eliminated hundreds of hours of manual effort and provided drivers & couriers with access to low-emission products and incentives, unlocking additional earnings potential.
Rider emission savings
Uber has unveiled a new feature called Emission Savings, allowing riders to monitor their contributions towards reducing carbon emissions every time they use Uber Green. The initiative aims to promote green travel and encourage riders to consider more sustainable options.
Currently, there are three components to this feature. Users can see the estimated CO2 saved to view the total emissions saved by opting for Uber Green, a graphical representation to demonstrate the significance of the savings as well as the average CO2 emissions avoided when choosing Uber Green over a regular Uber trip over the same distance.
Methodology
In this report, we use internal Uber data provided for nine countries in the EU, findings from the consumer and driver and delivery partner surveys, and researched assumptions from third party sources, for all modelled data points. To scale up estimates to the whole of the EU, we use third party estimates of the number of downloads in each EU country. All annual estimates are for the four periods Q4 2023, Q1 2024, Q2 2024, and Q3 2024.
Economic impact of Uber in the EU
The economic impact of Uber was calculated as the sum of:
- Uber provided data on driver and delivery partner payouts;
- Uber provided data on restaurant payouts;
- Supply chain (indirect) and additional demand (induced) impacts of driver and delivery partner spending on vehicles;
- Induced impact of net driver and delivery partner income, which is then spent in the wider economy;
- Supply chain (indirect) and additional demand (induced) impacts on restaurant revenue.
This measure is a gross estimate, looking at the total amount of economic activity supported by Uber in the EU. It does not attempt to measure what would happen in a hypothetical where Uber no longer existed. Our modelling does not include the impact of Uber’s direct investment or employment footprint as a company in the EU or any spillover effect this has into the wider tech ecosystem.
Economic impact of the core platform economy
We define the Core Platform Economy as the combination of food delivery and ride-sharing apps. To estimate the impact of the core platform economy we scale up our estimate of the impact of Uber in the EU using market share estimates from third party sources.
Consumer surplus
Following the methodology of Brynjolfsson, Collis and Eggers (2019), we asked app users the following single discrete binary choice question:
“Now imagine you had to choose between the following options. Would you prefer to keep access to [Uber app/Uber Eats app] or go without access to [Uber app/Uber Eats app] for one month and get paid €XX”
We then computed a logarithmic regression of the results of this poll to derive a demand curve and the total consumer surplus per user, taking the average as the headline measure. This was then scaled by users to calculate the total consumer surplus.
Time saved and the value of time saved by users of ride-sharing apps
We use polling data which asks riders how long their last Uber trip took, and how long the next best alternative would have taken. We combine this with internal Uber data on average trip length and trip numbers to estimate the aggregate time saving.
To calculate the value of this time saving to the economy we apply third-party estimates of the value of time for both leisure and work in the EU.
Cars off the road due to delivery apps
We use evidence from our consumer polling which tells us the share of the adult population who don’t own or have access to a car and who cite access to ride-sharing as a “very important” reason for this. We combine this estimate of the population of the EU and car ownership rates to estimate the number of cars that are not on the road due to ride-sharing.
Additional hours drivers and delivery partners spend with children
We use polling data to identify the share of Uber drivers and delivery partners who have children and say they get to spend more time with them as a result of their work. We use further polling evidence to estimate how much time on average these workers get to spend with their children. By combining this with driver and delivery partner counts from Uber’s internal data we estimate the aggregate additional hours.
Local business spillover ratios
The local business spillover ratio for Uber rides is the ratio between the total user spend on Uber rides and the sum of:
- The total economic value of local tourism spend, retail spend, and spend in the night-time economy resulting from users of the Uber app
- The economic impact of driver and delivery partner spend on vehicle costs
It was decided that economic impact through fuel spend and the induced spending from additional drivers was judged unlikely to be local.
The local business spillover ratio for Uber Eats is the ratio between total spend on Uber Eats and the sum of the economic value of restaurant payments and delivery partner spending on vehicle costs.
To estimate the total spend on both platforms we applied third party estimates of the share of customer spend that goes to drivers, delivery partners and restaurants.
Additional income for restaurants and eateries due to Uber Eats
The model utilises Uber’s internal data on the total payout to restaurants via Uber Eats. We estimate the additional proportion using the average of consumer polling from three sources: (1) polling undertaken by Public First, (2) Collison’s (2020)8 estimated range of the proportion of dollars spent on food delivery apps that are incremental, and (3) figures from Deloitte’s 2019 report “Delivering Growth”.9
Trips to or from tourist attractions
sharingWe take the geomean of two methods used to calculate the total number of trips made to tourist attractions using Uber Rides. The first method combines total trip numbers with visitor share estimates from Uber’s internal data. The second method is a bottom up estimate which uses third-party estimates including tourist numbers, visit duration, average trips per day, combined with polling data on ride-sharing.
Impact on the tourism industry
We use our estimate of the total number of Uber Rides trips taken by tourists to estimate the total spend at tourist attractions facilitated by Uber Rides. We apply Public First’s survey data to estimate the share of visits by tourists that would not have happened without ride-sharing. We multiply this estimate to our revenue estimate to estimate the tourism revenue that would not occur without ride-sharing.
Impact on the night-time economy
We gathered data from third-party sources to estimate the total market size of various night-time activities, including drinking alcohol, eating in restaurants, going to the cinema, and visiting live music events. We then use evidence from consumer polling and Uber’s market share to estimate the reduction in market value that would occur if ride-sharing was not available.
Additional retail spend
We use internal trip numbers data combined with Public First polling to estimate the share of trips to shops that would not have happened without Uber Rides. We use third-party estimates of shopping spend per trip and Uber’s market share to estimate the total additional spend at local shops due to ride-sharing.