Why Uber’s CEO Drives for Uber—and What It Taught Him About Building a Better Product

When Dara Khosrowshahi took the reins at Uber in 2017, he wasn’t stepping into a company—it was a movement. Uber had changed how cities moved. But with growth came complexity, controversy, and a need to operationalize what founder Travis Kalanick had built. Eight years later, Khosrowshahi is not just refining Uber—he’s trying to future-proof it.

In a wide-ranging interview on Decoder, the Uber CEO laid out the company’s next act. It's not about disruption for disruption’s sake. It’s about becoming indispensable.

“We want to be your everyday app,” Khosrowshahi said. “Your iOS for everyday living.”

That ambition includes everything from shared rides and grocery delivery to... what sounds a lot like public transit. Uber’s new “Route Match” feature sets fixed pickup spots every 20 minutes. Users trade a short walk and some wait time for a 50% discount.

So yes, Uber may have reinvented the bus.

But for Khosrowshahi, it’s all about trade-offs—between time, reliability, and cost—and giving users control over those levers.

The CEO Who Drives

Khosrowshahi isn’t just theorizing from a boardroom. Early in his tenure, he made Uber deliveries on an e-bike during COVID, then drove passengers in a Tesla. He wanted to understand the experience—not just as a rider, but as an earner.

“Most Uber employees used the app as riders,” he said. “I wanted to understand what it was like on the other side.”

That empathy drives a lot of Uber’s recent innovations—like shared rides, subscriptions for commuters, and tools that trade a bit of convenience for significant savings.

What Uber's Bus Moment Really Means

When asked if Uber had simply created a new kind of bus system, Khosrowshahi didn’t dodge.

“To some extent, it’s inspired by the bus,” he admitted. “But the goal is to reduce prices, extend the audience, and help with congestion.”

The bigger target? Personal car ownership.

Uber sees public transit not as a competitor, but as a teammate in the fight to reduce traffic and pollution. Their real rival is the idle car in your garage.

On Decision-Making and Reinvention

One of Khosrowshahi’s toughest decisions was merging Uber’s rides and Eats product teams—a move that sparked internal resistance but enabled powerful cross-sell opportunities and backend efficiencies.

His framework?

“Is it a one-way door or a two-way door?” he said, citing Jeff Bezos’ famous decision model. “If it’s reversible, move fast. If not, go slow, align, and commit.”

The Autonomous and AI Future

As AI agents rise and autonomous cars inch closer to reality, Khosrowshahi welcomes both—with caution.

Uber is partnering with companies like Waymo and Volkswagen to integrate driverless rides. And with AI assistants? He’s open—as long as the economics make sense.

“If you have unique inventory, you can charge a toll for that,” he said, referencing Uber’s 8.5 million drivers and 1.2 million merchants. “If AI agents bring us demand, great. If not, we’ll charge more.”

What This Means for Founders

Khosrowshahi’s journey offers wantrepreneurs and founders several lessons:

• Dogfood your product. Walk in your users’ shoes—even if it means literally making deliveries.
• Think in trade-offs. Every product decision is a balance of cost, convenience, and reliability.
• Don't fear reinvention. Whether it’s merging teams or mimicking the bus, bold pivots require conviction.
• Structure for scale. Uber’s mix of local GMs and global matrices keeps the company adaptable—and sometimes uncomfortable, by design.
• Play the long game. Whether it’s autonomy or AI, Khosrowshahi’s approach is clear: “Make the thing work, then figure out the economics.”

For entrepreneurs eyeing legacy industries, Uber’s shift from “the button that brings a car” to a full-stack mobility platform shows what’s possible with clarity, conviction, and the courage to evolve.