The global anti-Uber alliance is not real, says Travis Kalanick
In an interview with the Times of India, Uber's CEO did not mince words when it came to debunking the mythical threat this alliance poses.
"The anti-Uber alliance is not a corporation or identity, it's an idea. They can have coffee together on Sundays, I guess," Kalanick told the Times of India.
Lyft and Uber's Chinese rival Didi Kuaidi kicked off the alliance in September 2015 when the two companies pledged to work together. Lyft users visiting China could use the Lyft app to hail a car from Didi Kuaidi, and vice versa for Chinese visitors in the United States.
Since the announcement, Lyft's alliance has expanded to include Singapore's GrabTaxi and India's Ola Cabs.
On a trip to India, Kalanick admitted that he gets asked about the alliance a lot, but he doesn't see what the upside is for the companies participating.
"Let's put it another way. Somebody asks me what is the upside for Ola in it and I don't have a good answer. Do you? You should ask Ola the question. I sleep a couple of hours less a day because I have fierce competition. But it makes Uber better because we work harder for drivers and for riders and they see the benefit," he said.
"As an entrepreneur you have to see the difference between perception and reality and I haven't seen the reality in the alliance. From my perspective, it's mostly a perception game," he continued. "But if there is something that I am missing, please tell me because if I am wrong, I'd like to know about it today. At the end of the day, Ola has got to serve its riders just like we do. I have no idea how Lyft, Grab, or Didi is going to help them do it."