Introduction: Uber and Big Data

Sometimes I use Uber to commute from one area to another. Well, to be honest, Uber made my commuting struggle into a piece of cake. Just by one click, I can move from point A to point B smoothly. But Have you ever thought how did Uber exist? This interesting company has no cars no drivers and it is worth 66 billion dollars.

Before I dive into more details about Uber, let me begin with a brief history about Uber founder. Travis Kalanick is a programmer and businessman.  In 2016, he entered the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans at position 78, with an estimated net worth of $6.3 billion (1). Uber was not the first Startup for Travis. In fact, in 1998, Travis Kalanick helped Dan Rodrigues to found Scour Inc., a multimedia Internet search engine, and Scour Exchange, a peer-to-peer file sharing service. However, in October 2000, Scour Inc went bankrupt after being sued by several entertainment companies for around $250 billion. Then, in 2001, he started a new company called Red Swoosh, which was another peer-to-peer file-sharing company.  Yet, in 2007 Kalanick sold RedSwoosh to Akamai for $23 million and became a millionaire.

In 2009, Uber, the transportation network company, was born in San Francisco California, operating in 570 cities worldwide. Uber has reshaped the transportation Industry considerably, with Uber spreading to more than 70 countries and gaining a valuation of nearly $70 billion, and its business continues to grow. Uber has been a market leader in the sharing economy, and the gross revenue doubled to $20 billion in 2016. In this blog, I will provide a full explanation on how Uber works and states the different type of services that Uber provide.

How Does Uber Work?

This a simple chart explains how Uber works. First, a rider arises a request via Uber app to get a ride from point A to point B. Based on the geographical location and time, Uber will use an algorithm to determine to the nearest driver at the cheapest fares within a 15 second. when the driver arrives at the rider location, he/she pick the rider up. Meanwhile, the driver will start the trip and he/she will end when the rider gets to wanted distention. For the end users, I mean the rider and the driver, the process seems very simple. However, there are many works and process have to be done in order to ensure that Uber services meet the consumers' satisfaction.

A Variety of Service 
Uber is one of the most innovated company as it offers various service levels. These are a list of services that might be available in different cities or countries:

• UberPOOL is the least expensive level of service, in which the customer may share the ride with another passenger going in the same general direction. 
• UberX is a level of service in which the rider will get a private ride. 
• UberGo is available in India, provides for a ride in a hatchback. 
• UberTAXI is available in some markets, allows users to summon a taxi using the Uber software application 
• UberEATS allows users to have meals delivered from participating restaurants by Uber drivers. 
• UberRUSH is a courier package delivery service available in New York City, San Francisco, and Chicago. 
• UberBOAT is available in Istanbul, is a water-taxi service that allows users to travel by Beneteau boats across the Bosporus strait.

The next blog will demonstrate how Uber uses Big Data for Surge pricing and rating systems.