The End of Effort: Driving Velocity and Vitality into High-Performance -powered by Uber for Business
Summary
Joachim (Yim) Marschal, Country Manager DACH at Uber for Business, delivered a 26-minute presentation on the third afternoon of ITB Berlin 2026, framing corporate ground transportation as a largely unsolved friction point within an otherwise increasingly digitized travel stack. Marschal opened by establishing Uber's operating scale — 33 million trips per day across more than 10,000 cities in 70+ countries on six continents and 240 million monthly platform users — to argue that the company's efficiency infrastructure is already battle-tested at global scale and can be brought into corporate travel programs.
The core thesis is that ground transportation, specifically the first and last mile, is where corporate travel programs break down. Despite digitization gains in flights and hotels, most companies still manage taxi and ride-hailing spend via paper receipts and manual expense submissions. Marschal cited survey data showing 54% of travel managers struggle to track ground transportation spend, and 49% of corporate employees bypass company-sanctioned booking tools in favor of consumer apps they already use privately — creating policy gaps and receipt chaos. This shadow spending costs employees 1–4 hours per month in receipt collection alone, a significant drag in what Marschal calls 'high performance environments' where time is the core currency.
Marschal positioned Uber for Business as an answer through what he calls the 'end of effort' — an always-on, embedded mobility layer integrated directly into corporate expense ecosystems via APIs. He highlighted integrations with SAP Concur, Navan, and Midmo as examples of how Uber for Business connects to existing enterprise tooling. The app supports toggling between private and business profiles, with the business profile automatically routing trips through corporate policy and expense infrastructure, making compliance 'invisible' — a guardrail that permits rather than polices.
A significant workforce trend point: Marschal noted that by 2026, one in four employees will be Gen Z, a cohort that finds legacy corporate travel policies culturally alienating. Companies that offer on-demand, app-native services are reportedly 60% more likely to retain these younger workers. He also cited a general retention figure: 30% of employees across demographics are more likely to stay with companies that provide strong travel convenience and comfort.
On sustainability, Marschal noted that 56% of corporate travelers actively factor eco-friendliness into their travel choices, and strong ESG programs improve employee retention — linking Uber's real-time CO2 data outputs to corporate sustainability reporting needs.
The session closed with a Q&A covering three topics: (1) data complexity versus friction reduction, where Marschal emphasized that automation and AI handle backend complexity invisibly; (2) the centralized vs. decentralized systems question, clarified by Marschal as a connected model — Uber for Business is not a closed system but an API-integrated layer within enterprise ecosystems; and (3) the autonomous vehicle question, where Marschal confirmed Uber has live AV pilots in US cities, with tests now underway in London and Munich, but declined to predict the driver workforce outlook in 10 years, stating the company believes humans and AVs will coexist on the platform.
Key Takeaways
- •54% of travel managers struggle to track ground transportation spend — the first and last mile remains a governance black hole despite broader digitization of flights and hotels.
- •49% of corporate employees bypass company-sanctioned travel tools, reverting to consumer apps for ground transport, creating policy gaps and untracked spend.
- •Employees spend 1–4 hours per month collecting receipts for ground transportation alone when using non-integrated services — a measurable productivity cost in high-performance environments.
- •Uber operates at 33 million trips per day across 10,000+ cities in 70+ countries, with 240 million monthly platform users — scale Marschal used to argue Uber's infrastructure is proven and portable to enterprise.
- •30% of employees are more likely to stay at companies that provide strong travel comfort and convenience — framing corporate mobility as a retention tool, not just a cost center.
- •By 2026 one in four employees will be Gen Z; companies offering on-demand, app-native corporate travel services are 60% more likely to retain this cohort, according to Marschal.
- •56% of corporate travelers actively consider eco-friendliness in travel choices; Uber for Business surfaces real-time CO2 data to support ESG reporting.
- •Uber for Business integrates via API with SAP Concur, Navan, and Midmo for automated expensing — the business profile toggle routes spend invisibly through corporate policy without employee friction.
- •Marschal's 'Three Cs' framework for future mobility: Control (reduce administrative overload), Comfort (flexible travel, automated expensing), Compliance (invisible guardrails that enable rather than police).
- •On autonomous vehicles: Uber has live AV deployments in US cities and active tests in London and Munich as of early 2026. Marschal's prediction: 'The human aspect will never be erased — it is an addition to our services, not a replacement.' He declined to forecast the driver mix in 10 years.
Transcript
Our next speaker is really on point to this to the same topic. We heard a lot about the current issues at car rental stations and uh I'm pretty sure our next speaker will will will have something some good approach against it. Yam if you're ready we can start already if you like just because it's a the end of effort driving velocity and fidelity fidelity into high performance talk about Uber now and of course they do something new it's not car rental we all know but uh uh things should become sm...
