Uber began as UberCab after Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick developed the ride-hailing idea in 2009.
Garrett Camp, a Canadian entrepreneur, conceived the service after discussing the difficulty and cost of getting transportation in San Francisco. The original concept involved ordering a luxury car by smartphone and splitting the ride cost. Camp worked on the idea with Travis Kalanick, who later became the company’s chief executive.
UberCab launched in San Francisco in 2010, initially with a small fleet of cars. The company dropped “Cab” from its name after objections from San Francisco taxi regulators and became Uber. Its mobile application connected riders with drivers and handled booking and payment digitally.
Uber is not the same company as Lyft, which was founded later under the name Zimride. The term “Uber” therefore identifies the company, while “UberCab” refers to its early operating name.