In an interview with the Financial Times newspaper, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has highlighted the importance of bicycles and scooters in meeting demand for last mile mobility in urban areas.

Khosrowshahi said more individual modes of transport were better suited to inner-city travel  in the long-term and said that investors had to be aware that short-term losses were necessary to achieve longer-term goals.

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“During rush hour, it is very inefficient for a one-tonne hulk of metal to take one person 10 blocks,” he told the Financial Times. “We’re able to shape behaviour in a way that’s a win for the user. It’s a win for the city. Short-term financially, maybe it’s not a win for us, but strategically long-term we think that is exactly where we want to head.”

The newspaper noted that Uber has added e-bikes to its app and acquired the bike-sharing company Jump earlier this year. It added that Khosrowshahi has also struck deals with Lime, an electric scooter company, and Masabi, a London-based app that provides mobile ticketing for public transport, with the aim of building what he calls an ‘urban mobility platform’. Uber is also diversifying into freight and personal delivery.

In the interview Khosrowshahi acknowledged that Uber makes less money from a bike ride than from the same journey in a car, but said he expected that impact to be offset if customers used Uber’s app for more journeys – including by car – later on.

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Vehicle makers are increasingly partnering outside the traditional automotive OEM business space as they contemplate a future that includes new business models – especially car share, but including other modes for ‘last mile mobility’ – alongside advanced automated technologies. Toyota has just announced a partnership with Uber that includes a US$500m investment in the ride-hail company.

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See also: Uber invests in e-scooter company Lime