It looks like the partial U.S. government shutdown is not only a huge concern for federal workers who have not yet received their paychecks, as Uber is apparently having troubles of its own because of the federal offices’ closure. Particularly, big companies including Uber have slowed down in issuing stock to the public since the government shutdown began. This is currently affecting the financial markets as they primary source of capital has been cut off.

How the US Government Shutdown is Affecting Uber

The current U.S. federal government closure in now on its fourth week, and Uber has been reeling from the paralyzed operations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). To note, SEC is the one in charge of supervising the markets all over the country. Due to the shutdown, majority of the commission’s 4,400 workers is furloughed, including lawyers and personnel that decide on corporate documents for initial public offerings. At this point, the process might take more than two or three months.

Aside from Uber, another ride-haling company Lyft and image upload platform Pinterest are some of the companies impacted by the SEC shake-up due to government shutdown. Presently, there are more than 800,000 federal employees that need to be attended due to the closure of certain government posts. It would appear that the U.S. federal shutdown is caused by President Donald Trump’s putting pressure the Congress to allow the construction of the wall along the Mexican border.

Uber also has to fix a looming problem out of a 2018 state Supreme Court ruling in Sacramento, California, wherein the company’s member drivers will no longer be labeled as regular employees but as independent contractors instead. This may cause a major blow to Uber’s current business model, as the number of active member drivers may decrease.

More Surprises From Uber in Store For 2019

Uber is now offering a special service called Ride Pass, which is a subscription plan for customers that costs $14.99 a month, or around $24.99 in Los Angeles area. This move will greatly reduce surge pricing, which is a major reason why many people still do not want to try Uber. Therefore, more people will be convinced to leave their own cars at home to try the Uber subscription plan. Of course, people can also try riding a regular taxi, and they may want to know a few tips on how to get a good taxi driver.

Perhaps the biggest plan of Uber in 2019 is to start planning for Uber Air, which will take commuters to the sky while riding a flying cab. An Uber Air craft is estimated to cost as much as $5 billion. For now, auto giants such as Volkswagen, Toyota, Boeing and Toyota are expressing their interest to bid for the account. Uber Air is expected to travel as far as a 60-mile or 97-kilometer distance. The flying taxi will be mostly electric and not entirely based on fuel.

If ever Uber Air becomes a reality, the demand for it will surely spike as many people would like to fly across the sky instead of sitting in a land-based vehicle caught in a traffic jam. If you’re already in it, do not forget to capture the rare experience of riding a flying taxi using your phone and post the pictures to your social media. In any case that you want to get more reach and likes in your Instagram posts, you can try getting likes kopen Instagram tool.