Understanding Uber's Rise In The Transportation Industry (With Video)

"The ride-sharing business has been decimated," says Mike Isaac, New York Times technology reporter and best-selling author of "Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber."

Isaac joined FreightWaves founder and CEO Craig Fuller for a special Fuller Speed Ahead episode Thursday on the opening day of the FreightWaves LIVE @HOME virtual conference.

Isaac and Fuller discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic has brought ride-sharing to a halt but sent the food delivery business soaring. Fuller noted the role that food and grocery delivery apps like Uber Eats have played in making quarantine more sustainable.

Referencing Uber Eats' recent success, Isaac stated that Uber has had to "make some real adjustments to how they fit this post-pandemic world, and to their credit, they have been able to do that really quickly."

Isaac shared his insights on the future of Uber and how the company sees itself as "this logistics layer for delivery around the world, no matter what those items are." Isaac said "food delivery is still a large growth area" for Uber, especially as new "cloud kitchens" are popping up around the country.

Calling it "a really compelling story about the history of Uber," Fuller discussed his thoughts on Isaac's book and Uber's exponential growth.

Fuller and Isaac also discussed the potential of Uber's extensive last-mile freight network; special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and why they may value founders more than businesses themselves; and the impact of regulations such as California's Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) on Uber's business model.

In Tuesday's election, California's voters passed Proposition 22, which exempts Uber, Lyft and some food delivery drivers from some AB5 regulations in terms of employee/contractor employment status.

Isaac's book covers Uber's early days and the evolution of a large-scale business.