Wrapping up 2016. On to the next!

To our fans,

As an eventful year draws to a close, I wanted to take a moment to thank all our fans, friends, supporters and customers.  We have achieved so much in 2016, such as releasing the RideGuru, our new rideshare calculator and a community platform, and running a successful campaign to promote transparency for the rideshare market.  All the team members here and everyone reading this message have contributed to these causes, and we should all be proud of what we have accomplished.

The taxi and rideshare market is a tumultuous one.  The heated debates will continue, old rules will be scrapped while new rules will be created, and new controversies and challenges will arise.  Unfortunately, this trend will continue for the foreseeable future and certainly into 2017.  While we still continue to sort out the taxis vs. rideshare dilemma, we now face the human vs. machines dilemma with the introduction of autonomous cars.  The market seemingly is changing too fast for any of us to keep up.

While it sounds daunting, we all have to keep one thing in mind.  We are all on a journey to come up with something great and are facing the revolution of ground transportation.  In the 1990s, we saw the explosion of the Internet.  In the 2000s, we saw the invention of mobile technologies and social media.  Now, we are facing the same transformation in ground transportation.  What gives me hope is that whether you are a passenger learning new ways to travel, a driver or a fleet owner running a business, an engineer creating the technology, or regulators making new laws, we are all ultimately working together and towards the same thing, a better way for humanity to travel.

 …and that’s a wonderful thing.  …and that excites me.    It should excite you too!

 So, to our fans and everyone involved, thank you for a wonderful 2016.  We look forward to another great year.   Let’s continue to support and push this revolution together!

Ippei Takahashi

President / CEO, Unleashed