Scandal-ridden ride sharing giant Uber posted a rare piece of positive news – it has surpassed the milestone of five billion rides.
Despite all the shenanigans which culminated in the ousting of its CEO, it took less than a year to more than double from two billion trips it announced last July.
It wasn’t a single journey which took Uber over the five billion threshold but 156 trips which began simultaneously around the world on May 20.
"These trips happened in 24 countries on six continents, in cities like Mumbai, Moscow and Medellin," Uber wrote in a blog post.
Each of the 156 drivers will get $500 from Uber.
It is some achievement considering the sheer weight of negative news swirling around the company, ranging from workplace sexism, a Justice Department investigation, scores of lawsuits and the recent ‘delete Uber’ campaign.
Lyft has benefitted from the bad press stealing some market share in the US but Uber still has commands a healthy 77% of the market.
