INTRODUCTION

OLA

India seems to be going through a probable „Taxi‟ revolution. Every other day, there is
a new start up offering efficient and economical cab service to the citizens operating
urban and rural lifestyles. Travelling within the city has always been a curse for many
individuals, especially for those living in crowded cities like Delhi, Mumbai,
Bangalore, etc. While the local trains emerge as an alternative to shelling out cash for
fuel and waiting in bumper-tobumper traffic in cosmopolitan Mumbai, the danger of
travelling by these trains is innumerable. The distances in Bangalore crush the spirit
out of anyone who loves to drive while the traffic makes driving your own vehicle in
the city terrible. Ola Cabs is a taxi service that was started in 2010 in Mumbai to solve
the city‟s transport setback.

ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd., functioning under the trade name Ola, is an Indian
online transportation network company. Founded as an online cab aggregator in
Mumbai, Ola is now based in Bangalore. As of September 2015, it was valued at $5
billion.

Ola cabs has completely revolutionized the way India travels, and is favorite with
almost everyone, given its convenience, efficiency and how it allowed us to save the
daily arguments and haggling with the auto and cab drivers who refuse to go by the
meter. Founded on 3rd December 2010 by Bhavish Aggarwal (currently CEO) and
Ankit Bhati, Ola, as of 2014, had expanded to a network of more than 200,000 cars
across 100 cities. In November 2014, it expanded to incorporate autos on-trial basis in
Bangalore.

Post the trial phase, Ola Auto has expanded to other cities as well like Delhi, Pune,
Chennai and Hyderabad and Kolkata starting December 2014 while in December
2015, Ola expanded its auto services in Chandigarh, Indore, Jaipur and Guwahati,
Visakhapatnam. OlaCabs acquired Bangalore based cab service TaxiForSure for about
$200 million in March 2015. From the 25th of June 2015, Ola users have gained
access to TaxiForSure cabs via the Ola mobile application. By November 2015, to

1
strengthen its new bus-shuttle service, Ola had acquired Geotagg as well, a trip-
planning applications company, for an undisclosed sum.

Ola provides different types of cab services to its customers ranging from economic to
luxury travel. The cabs can be reserved through a mobile application. It supports both
cash and cashless payment options with Ola money. Ola claims to clock an average of
more than 150,000 bookings per day and commands 60% of the market share in India.

In November 2014, Ola also started on-demand auto rickshaw service through its
mobile application in Bangalore, Pune and few other cities in India Taxi can be
booked either through website or through a mobile application that is available for
download on Google Play Store and The App Store. For this, Customers need to create
a unique user name and password. The mobile app, by far, is the simplest way to book
an Ola Cab. The customer simply needs to turn on their GPS setting and then open Ola
application, which indicates all available cabs near that location. Customers then have
two options available: picking up the cab right then or booking one for a later date.

Ola Cabs offer services ranging from the economy level to the ultimate luxury. The
mini cars, most popularly a Tata Indica, are the cheapest service offered and can seat
maximum 5 people. Sedan is also offered for a slightly higher price, and then SUVs
usually recommended for 6 to 8 people. OLA VS UBER: The Battle of Dominance
Building Research & Analytics IN Sciences, Technology, Operations Research &
Management 74 |Page (BRAINSTORM)- VINC'17 The business class has the option
of availing prime high end cars, which completes the luxury level. The latest
development from Ola is the introduction of new Ola Autos. The frequency of these
autos is much higher than the usual Minis and hence, most of the time, customers can
find an auto within two minutes. This service was started on a trial basis in Bangalore
in 2014 and now has been expanded to cities like Chennai, Delhi etc after the trial
proved successful .Easy accessibility and convenience are the terms that are
synonymous with Ola Cabs. The option of cashless payment using the Ola Money
facility and its unique referral program are few characteristics that have helped this
company revolutionize the new local transport in India.

2
UBER

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Uber Technologies Inc. is an American

worldwide online transportation network company . Founded as UberCab by Garrett
Camp, the founder of StumbleUpon, and Travis Kalanick in 2009, it develops, markets
and operates the Uber application, allowing consumers with smartphones to submit a
trip request, which the software program automatically sends to the Uber driver
nearest to the consumer, alerting the driver to the location of the customer. As of
August 2016, Uber provided its cab services in over 66 countries and 545 cities
worldwide. The Uber application automatically calculates the fare and transfers the
payment to the driver. Since its launch, many other companies have replicated Uber‟s
business model, a trend that has come to be referred as "Uberification".

The legality of Uber has been challenged by the government and other taxi companies,
who allege that ithiresdrivers who are not licensed to drive taxicabs which is unsafe
and illegal. Also, some taxi driver unions have called Uber drivers "pirate taxis".
However it is now common for taxi drivers to as well to work for Uber; especially
during "surge" periods when they have high chances of earning multiple times what
they would have under the taxi umbrella. The company received $200,000 in seed
funding in 2009. In additional funding, Uber raised $1.25 million in 2010.

Following a beta launch in summer of 2010, Uber's services and mobile application
officially launched in San Francisco in the year 2011. Initially, Ryan Graves was
appointed as CEO, however, Kalanick replaced him in the role later that year and
Graves stepped down to become the company's COO. By the end of 2011, Uber had
raised $44.5 million in funding and in the same year, the company changed its name
from Uber Cab to Uber. I

This project is all about the customer satisfaction towards the transportation industries-
Ola cabs and uber cabs. Also, research has been done and questionnaire has been
made to find positive and negative aspects of the two. The qualities of
entrepreneurship, growth and the services provided have helped both the companies to
survive in the market. Both are using their war chest to offer incentives to drivers and
a discounted fare to riders. Ola has emerged as the clear leader in terms of market
share. Ola, the company had a 60 per cent share in November 2014.Uber, which is

3
now the world's most valued technology start-up at $50 billion, just had five per cent
of the market.

They differ in some cases and converge in many. Uber is a pure play app-based service
and has a westernized template. One can book a cab only through the app. No cash
payments are accepted globally though the company recently made a significant
exception in India. Customers can pay through the Paytm wallet, credit cards, debit
cards, as also cash in a few cities. Whereas, Ola cabs provides other services also. Ola
introduced Ola Cafe, a food delivery service - customers can order through the app and
Ola cabs will deliver the order in quick time.

TECHNOLOGICAL STABILITY
The aim is to use technology to bring efficiency and superior customer experience to
the car rental industry. The company Endeavour to bring convenience, price
transparency and standardization to consumers booking car rentals and cab services.
There is also a freely downloadable mobile app using which customers can book cabs
and monitor their position by the built-in GPS system. Ola cabs have a dedicated
customer care centre to address all queries of our customers. Technology has enabled
us to adhere to the 10 minute service level agreement (SLA) which the company
provides to all our customers.

The company also uses ‘heat maps’ to efficiently manage the demand and supply of
cabs in various parts of a city at different points in time. The traffic alerts using
information from various sources including social media help in guiding the drivers to
reach the destination in the shortest possible time. Both these help in effective
inventory management for Ola cabs. The company plans to scale quickly as we have
an asset-light and technology-focused business model. Also, with the capital raised
from Tiger Global, Ola cabs plans to significantly ramp up our technology
infrastructure.

4
NEED OF THE STUDY

In the recent years of rapid growth on rental services, there is tremendous increase in
the usage of call taxi services in all cities, especially in metros. International Journal of
Pure and Applied Mathematics Special Issue 14920 In every sphere of business, the
service and quality should be matched with the perceived expected and delivered. The
big market players in call taxi services are keen in enhancing the products and services
to tap the customer base. This study will help us to know the customers satisfaction
with respect to the comfort, convenience, tariff, service quality and staff courtesy, etc.
Also, we can have the input and ideas to improve the services to meet out the customer
expectation in the near future.

5
 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

 To conduct survey analysis on the consumer preference on Ola cabs and Uber
cabs in India.
 To find out which factors are more preferred by the customers while choosing
among the two.
 To analyze the reasons behind their success, especially among the youth of the
country.
 To compare their market share in the transportation industry.
 To shed light on different aspects that a service based transportation industry
must follow in order to increase its market share for being on a continuous growth
path.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

 To find out the customer satisfaction towards the call-taxi services.

 To find the level of convenience and comfort with call-taxi services.
 To know their opinion about the tariff system and promptness of service.
 To ascertain the customer view towards the driver behavior and courtesy.
 To provide inputs to enhance the services to delight the customers.

6
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is a way to solve the research problem in a systematic

manner. It may understand as a science of studying how the research is done
significantly. The methodology may differ from problem to problem, yet the
basic approach towards the research remains the same.

There are two types of data:-

Primary data – primary data is that data which is collected for the first time and
is also called “first hand data”

These data are basically observed and collected by the researcher for the first
time. Examples are – questionnaires, surveys etc.

Secondary data – secondary data are those data which are collected by the other
persons for his/her own purpose and when others use that data for solving their
purpose, it becomes secondary data , i.e., data collected by one person becomes
secondary data for the other.

DATA COLLECTION:

 Secondary data was collected from media publishing and internet.

 Primary data was collected with the help of questionnaire and friends, relatives were
contacted personally for collecting the primary data.
 A sample of 50 respondents has been taken for this project.

7
 LIMITATION

The study reveal the customer satisfaction about the call taxi services, the factors they give
importance in selection of the service provider, tariff, comfort, convenience, service quality
and customer care rendered. This will help the service providers as an important input to
understand about the customer satisfaction about their service, and to what extent they are
with us by utilizing our services. The finding depicts the exact replica of the customer’s
mindset and level of satisfaction towards the service providers operating the call taxi in the
Indian market. Appropriate suggestions were provided considering the facts and feasibility,
if the market players take these outcomes into account and act, it’s sure to create fullest
satisfaction rather delight the customers and expand the market base. This will also help the
service providers full fill the customer expectation that fetches the goodwill and develop
their brand image in the market.

8
 CAPTER-II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

9
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Call taxi system in India has grown significantly in India and infrastructure growth, growth
of middle class, increasing disposable incomes and growing GDP are some of the factors
responsible. The rise of the BPO industry isone of the reason to growth of this sector
because of odd working hours.This growth can be seen morein metropolitan cities of India
(Rahman, 2014)and there is intense competition among various operators like Ola, Uber,
Radio cabs, Yellow cabs and Meru etc. So to sustain in this competitive market it is
necessary to understand the users of the rental cab service. Various studies and researches
have been done to understand the factors important while choosing a rentalcar.

Call taxi app (CTA) helped in increasing perceived usefulness, ease of use, playfulness and
subjective norms (Peng et. al.,2014).This also helps in convenience of tracing user and
service provider(Chen ,2014).

A study by Lu et al (2015) suggested that self- service mobile technologies give control to
commuters to access lot of information with the help of technology.

Horsu and Yeboah (2015) had revealed in their study that driver behavior have negative
correlation on customer satisfaction in Ghana. Other variables continuous service, comfort,
reliability and affordability have an impact on customer satisfaction with regard to minicab
taxi.

One study by Paronda et al (2016) identified the key performance indicators of conventional
taxis which includes reliability, travel speed, passenger expenses and quality of service.
Study based on surveys for 30 days concluded that Uber and GrabCaroffers better quality
services than conventional taxis. For Indian market similar studies have been done,

a research by Hanif and Sagar (2016)suggested that cab services has a huge potential for
growth in Hyderabad targeting middle and affluent class. Consumer not only use cab service
for commutation but also for visiting a shopping mall, attending late night party or going
out on special occasion. Study also showed that customer satisfaction level is very high,
showing positive signfor future growth and expansion of business.

Aggregator taxi companies ‘s tied up with the mobile wallets companies like Free Charge,
PayTM, Mobikiwikiwhich helped in providing hazel free ride to customers by providing

10
customers easy payment options with offers and discounts for rides(Kavita and Rajeswari
,2016).Consumer’s preference for online transaction push Uber to create taxi service portal
as well as Uber is also started spending on various marketing strategies and information
technology.

Ruchi et al (2017)studied various factors of dynamics of Indian taxi markets such as pricing,
their revenue models, market share etc. Utsav Pandya et al (2017) identifiedtechnology
trends, safety, and price, ease of availability,comfort and payment optionsaffecting public
taxi market.SaritPrava Das et al (2017) identified convenience, quality services,
transparency and safety as most important parameters for selecting pre booked taxis. A
study by Kumar and Kumar (2016) showed that consumers were interested to redeem
coupons while selecting cab services and were comfortable to redeem coupons through
mobile apps while booking cab services.With customers, service providers are also
important in any service industry,

in this regard a research byRuchika Malik (2017) identified that retaining drivers by
initiatives like monetary awards of influence customer decision. Ola is using reward systems
to motivate their drivers thus motivating them as well as involving them in resolving the
customer grievances to build a loyal base of drivers.On other side Uber offers rewards and
discounts under their UberCLUB program. This program is not only design impact drivers
but is also designed to help their family by providing them various offers related to
automobile insurance, vehicle maintenance, lifestyle, health and wellness to their everyday
life. There are three categories Silver, Gold and Diamond, based on the quality and
performance of each driver.One more comparatively study of Ola and Uber
byAllamdasRohit H. (2017) suggested that as Indian consumers and highly price-sensitive
and very less brand loyal,companies need to design new packages to attract new customers
and to keep existing customers.Similar research by Shukla et al (2017) on OLA and UBER
suggested, to adopt highly innovative and customer-centric strategies to increase market
share

Therefore, it would not be that easy for both the companies Ola and Uber to operate in
anenvironment which has to be more customer-centric & target oriented, highly innovative,
and have resistant to pressure from the regulatory authorities and keep delighting their
customers.

11
Geeta Kesavaraj (2013), reveals that “As global competition grows, communication and
technology channels open up new markets, and products and services are translated into a
wide array of choices for our audiences, companies must work harder than ever to gain and
keep customers at a competitive cost. In this new age, companies must focus their strategy,
energy, processes and budgets to improve their knowledge and commitment to customers. It
is imperative that companies make it their priority to use innovative Customer Relationship
Management methodologies and to know how to implement customer centric strategies,
together with the use of adequate technologies to aid in this process”

Tazyn Rahman (2014), According to the industry sources, unorganized operators dominate
about 85% of the market. The car rental industry grew from ` 30bn in FY03 to ` 200bn in
FY11 notching up an annual average growth of 30%.The Radio cabs business has emerged
as one of the fastest growing businesses in the Indian transportation sector. The concept of
24- hour radio cabs caught up in the country about a decade back with Delhi-based Mega
Corp setting the wheels rolling under the Mega Cabs brand in cities such as Bangalore,
Hyderabad, Calcutta, Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Amritsar. Guwahati also is not laying back
in this regard. Private luxury taxi operators in Guwahati are also planning to expand their
fleets in the absence of a stateowned service and the shift by most commuters to the
economical yet comfortable mode of transport. The Northeast is a prime destination for
tourist, so the demand for car rental services can only get bigger. In the absence of a state
owned radio cab service in Guwahati, the private players are eyeing big business. My Taxi
has the pioneered private taxi operators ( not radio taxi ) to hit the road in 2010 followed by
Prime Cabs. Prime Cabs launched in 2012 has emerged as the first organized Radio taxi
service provider. Prime Cabs offers a cab service that emulates the best taxi service norms
across the world. Their endeavor is to ensure that customers need for commuting is met
every time they need to commute and in as hassle free a manner as possible. The prime
objective of this study is to understand the customer perception and customer satisfaction
level on Radio Taxi services with special reference to the city of Guwahati and to offer
suggestion to improve the performance of the services. Dipesh Bhawnani, et. al.,(2015),
focuses on analyzing the cab company’s customer dataset which will help company to
analyze its frequent customers: so that the company can understand its customers and can
provide different offers to them. Demand of cabs of particular type and at particular location

12
and time, so that the company could make necessary arrangement of particular cab like
small cabs, luxury cars, buses etc. We have analyzed the possible cancellations of cab
booking by the customer using data obtained from the company. The goal is to reduce the
cost incurred by the company as a result of cab cancellations made by the customer. Cab
companies will be able to manage its vendors and drivers by providing them with up to date
information about Customer cancellations. We have also analyzed travel and package type
used by the customer. Tableau is used to connect hortonworks hive data source and the data
is analyzed and shown in graphical format for better visualization and understanding.

Kumar, Kishore & Namavaram, Ramesh. (2016), The purpose of this paper is to study the
factors influencing the consumers while selecting cab services. The dependent variable is
'coupon redemption behavior' and independent variables are innovativeness and price
consciousness. The relationship between dependent and independent variables are
empirically verified through statistical methods. The statistical tools like correlation,
regression and descriptive statistics are used for data analysis. It is found from the study that
consumers are interested to redeem coupons while selecting cab services. It is also revealed
from the study that consumers are comfortable to redeem coupons through mobile apps
while booking cab services.

Rexi A. (2016) states that “Call taxi have a greater value in the community, in the taxi
industry is regulated in various ways by the state Governments through their respective
Departments of Transport. Through this regulation the Government is able to exert some
control over the activities of the industry, with the ultimate objective of providing a higher
level of service (a complex construct in itself) to the public. In the current scenario the best
and convenient way to travel to and from bus stands, railway stations, airports and to other
places of interest in Coimbatore is by call taxi. There are as many as 40 to 50 call taxi
service providers available in the Coimbatore city and its suburbs call taxi service is mostly
available 4 hours within the day. And people regard it as the most convenient way to travel.
this study is mainly used to identify the awareness towards call taxi services, factors
influencing the choice of call taxi services, satisfaction towards the call taxi services, and
the problem faced by people while using call taxi services.

Ruchi Shukla, Ashish Chandra & Himanshi Jain (2017) states that “Every other day in
India, there is a new start up offering efficient cab service to the citizens operating in urban
and rural lifestyles. This raises a question that is India going through a possible 'Taxi

13
Revolution' In this paper, an attempt has been made to do comparative study of two of such
taxi aggregators that have radically changed the way "the great Indian middle class"
commutes daily-Ola and Uber. Currently, both Ola and Uber cabs are following he strategy
of expanding their operations and building customer base in key metropolitan cities across
India. The motive is to increase market share and achieve economies of scale and at the
same time providing customer satisfaction. This article seeks to understand the dynamics of
India's taxi market by studying various factors like the pricing, market share, revenue
models, etc.The paper is qualitative in nature and based on secondary data collected from
different sources.

Hanif and Sagar (2016) had stated that there was demand for Call-a-Cab service offered by
OLA AND UBER. The cab services are proving security through global positioning system
(GPS) and women taxi drivers for women passengers especially during night times.
According to Harding et al (2016) the auto-rickshaws (three wheelers) are more popular in
urban transport before the advent of cars and cabs. Horsu and Yeboah (2015) had argued
that driver behavior have negative impact on customer satisfaction in Ghana. The variables
like continuous service, comfort, reliability and affordability have an impact on customer
satisfaction with regard to minicab taxi.

According to Lu et al (2015) the self- service mobile technologies helps the commuters to
access lot of data about cab services and such technologies had changed the role of both
customers and companies. The adoption of call taxi app (CTA) is impacted perceived
usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norms and perceived playfulness (Peng, Wang,
He, Guo, & Lin, 2014). Chen (2014) had explained that mobile apps help both drivers and
passengers to find each other. At present the mobile apps are helps the customers to find
cabs. In the recent years the car rental industry is growing constantly especially in
metropolitan cities in India (Rahman, 2014).

14
The OLA AND UBERs had become more popular and the demand for its cabs had
exceeded that its supply which means technology had created huge demand for organized
cab industry. The factors like accessibility, reliability and transparency are primary factors
which have attracted customers towards branded cab services like OLA AND UBERs
(Vaithianathan & Bolar, 2013). The customer feedback in cab services industry is very
important for attaining success in the competitive car rental industry. Upadhyaya (2013) had
explained how Meri Cab Company had collected feedback from its customers and enhanced
its service quality for sustaining in the business.

15
 CHAPTER-III

INDUSTRY PROFILE

AND

COMPANY PROFILE

16
UBER

Uber is a transportation network company (TNC) headquartered in San

Francisco, California. Uber offers services including peer-to-peer
ridesharing, taxi cab hailing, food delivery, and a bicycle-sharing system. The
company has operations in 785 metropolitan areas worldwide.[3] Its platforms
can be accessed via its websites and mobile apps. Uber has been so prominent
in the sharing economy that the changes in industries as a result of it have
been referred to as Uberisation[6][7][8] and many startups have described their
products as "Uber for X".[9][10][11]

The name "Uber" is a reference to the common (and somewhat colloquial)

word uber, meaning "topmost" or "super", and having its origins in the
German word über, cognate with over, meaning "above".[12]

Uber is estimated to have 100 million worldwide users[13] and a 69% market
share in the United States.[14]

Uber is a gold member of the Linux Foundation[15] and has a five

star privacy rating from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.[16]

Most jurisdictions regulate TNCs such as Uber and TNCs are banned from
operating in some jurisdictions. For more information, see Legality of TNCs
by jurisdiction.\

17
Formerly UberCab (2009–
2011)

Type Private

Industry Transportation

Founded March 2009; 9 years

ago

Founders Travis Kalanick

Garrett Camp

Headquarters San
Francisco, California,
United States

Area served Worldwide, 785

metropolitan areas

Key people Ronald

Sugar (Chairman)
Dara
Khosrowshahi (CEO)

Nelson Chai (CFO)

Barney Harford
(COO)

Manik Gupta (CPO)

Thuan Pham (CTO)

Products Mobile app, website

Services Vehicle for hire

Delivery (commerce)

Revenue US$ 11.3 billion

(2018)[1]

18
 Net income US$ -1.8 billion
(2018)[2]

Number of 16,000 worldwide,

employees including 9,382 in
the United States
(December 2017)

Subsidiaries Uber Eats

Jump Bikes

Website www.uber.com/

Footnotes / references

Product overview
Riding with Uber

The Uber app gives riders a quote for the fare before they commit to the
ride.[17] Uber uses a dynamic pricing model; prices for the same route vary
based on the supply and demand for rides at the time the ride is
requested.[18] At the end of the ride, payment is made based on the rider's pre-
selected preferences, which could be a credit card on file, Google Pay, Apple
Pay, cash, or, in India, Airtel mobile wallet[19] or Unified Payments
Interface.[20] After the ride is over, the rider is given the option to provide
a gratuity to the driver, which is also billed to the rider's payment
method.[21] In some locations, if the driver has to wait more than a few minutes
after arriving to the pickup location, riders are charged a wait time fee.

Levels of service

UberX, the basic level of service, provides a private ride in a standard car with
driver for up to four passengers. Rider service levels, many of which are only
available in certain cities, include:[23]

19
 UberASSIST provides additional assistance to senior citizens and passengers
with a physical disability, but cannot transport a non-folding wheelchair (see
UberWAV for wheelchair-accessible vehicles).
 UberAUTO, available in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, provides
transportation by auto rickshaw.[24][25]
 UberBike is a dockless bicycle-sharing system that allows users to
rent electric bicycles via Uber subsidiary Jump Bikes in 9 metropolitan areas
in the United States including San Francisco and Washington, D.C.[26][27] Uber
users are also able to rent Lime scooters in 46 cities via the Uber mobile
app.[28]
 UberBLACK provides a black luxury vehicle.
 UberBOAT, a water-taxi service, provides speedboats in the summer to/from
points on the coast of Croatia.[29] UberBOAT has also offered transport
across Biscayne Bay during Miami Art Week[30][31] and across
the Bosporusstrait in Istanbul in the summer.[32]
 UberChapchap, available in Nairobi, Kenya is a low-cost service offering
transport via a Suzuki Alto, a kei car. "Chapchap" means "faster" in
the Swahili language.[33]
 uberESPAÑOL is a version of UberX (see below) that allows Spanish-
speaking riders to request Spanish-speaking drivers.[34]
 UberFLASH, available in Singapore, is a service that combines both private
cars and ComfortDelGro taxis.[35]
 UberGO, available in India and Sri Lanka, provides for a ride in
a hatchback.[36]
 UberHealth is a HIPAA-compliant method for health professionals to arrange
rides for patients to-and-from their appointments. Patients
without smartphones can receive pickup information via Text messaging or
via the health professional's office.[37]
 UberKIDS provides a car with a child safety seat for an additional charge.[38]

20
 UberMOTO, available in India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Dominican
Republic, provides transportation by motorcycle.[39][40][41][42]
 UberPETS includes pet transport for an additional charge. Must be
accompanied by pet's handler. Persons with a service animal may use any type
of Uber service, as required by law.
 UberPOOL, available for up to two people per party, provides a ride that is
possibly shared with other riders going in the same general direction. Unless
the rider pays an additional fee for door-to-door service, the rider(s) are
required to walk a short distance at both ends of the ride to save time for the
driver and other riders. The pickup/drop-off locations are indicated via a map
in the mobile app.
 UberPOP provides a compact or subcompact car.
 Uber Rent, powered by Getaround, is a peer-to-peer carsharing service
available in San Francisco.[43]
 UberSELECT provides a car with a leather interior.
 UberSUV provides a sport utility vehicle.
 UberTAXI allows users to summon a taxi using the Uber software
application.[44] Users pay an additional booking fee and can leave a gratuity
through the app.[44] The service was implemented to appease taxi drivers who
protested the increased competition from Uber.[44]
 UberX provides a private ride in a standard car for up to 4 passengers.
 UberXL provides a ride in a large vehicle that can seat up to 6 passengers.
 UberWAV provides a wheelchair accessible vehicle.[45]

Services under development

 UberAIR / UberElevate will provide short flights using VTOL aircraft.

Demonstration flights are projected to start in 2020 in Dallas and Los
Angeles. Commercial operations are projected to begin in 2023.[46] Although
technically feasible, the program is expected to encounter safety and
regulatory obstacles.

21
Promotional limited services

DeLorean "time machine" provided by Uber

Uber has also operated promotional limited services, such as rides of up to 15

minutes each on September 6–8, 2013 in San Francisco in the DeLorean
DMC-12 car that was featured in the Back to the Future film franchise.

Driving with Uber

Most Uber drivers use their own cars although drivers can rent or lease a car
to drive with Uber.[49][50][51] Uber offers car rental or leasing
via Getaround, Hertz, and Fair[52] and Uber and BYD Auto have a partnership
to provide leasing of electric cars to Uber drivers in Chicago and New York
City.

Drivers must meet requirements for age, health, car age and type, have
a driver's license and a smartphone or tablet, and must pass a background
check.[50] In many cities, vehicles used by Uber drivers must pass annual safety
inspections and/or must have an Uber emblem posted in the passenger
window. Some cities also require Uber drivers to have a business license.

Uber drivers are considered independent contractors and not employees,

though this has been the subject of lawsuits in several jurisdictions;
see Uber#Criticism.

Before drivers accept a ride, the app tells them if the ride will take more than
45 minutes.

Uber has invested significantly in mapping technology.

22
 The Uber driver app includes accommodations for hearing-impaired
drivers.[57][58]

Drivers in the United States who open a checking account at GoBank

by Green Dot receive a debit card that provides cash back for purchases
at Exxon, Walmart, Sprint, Jiffy Lube, and Advance Auto Parts.[59]

To verify identity and prevent drivers' accounts from being compromised, a

mechanism called "Real-Time ID Check" requires some drivers to
occasionally take selfies when logging on to Uber.

Rating scores[edit]

After each journey, the users and drivers must both rate each other on a scale
of 1 to 5 stars. Riders and drivers who have low ratings can be deactivated.

Other products and services

 Uber Eats provides meal delivery from nearby participating restaurants for a
fee of approximately $4.
 Uber and issuing bank Barclays offer a Visa Inc. credit card that offers
customers a cashback reward program and other incentives.
 Uber Freight matches freight shippers with truckers in a similar fashion to the
matching of taxi passengers with drivers.

History

Further information: Timeline of Uber

Travis Kalanick, former CEO of Uber, in 2013

23
Uber was founded in 2009 as UberCab by Garrett Camp, a computer
programmer and the co-founder of StumbleUpon, and Travis Kalanick, who
had sold his Red Swoosh startup for $19 million in 2007.

On New Year's Eve, after Camp and his friends spent $800 hiring a private
driver, Camp wanted to find a way to reduce the cost of direct transportation.
He realized that sharing the cost with people could make it affordable, and his
idea morphed into Uber. Kalanick joined Camp and gives him "full credit for
the idea" of Uber.[70] The first prototype was built by Camp and his friends,
Oscar Salazar and Conrad Whelan, with Kalanick being brought on as a
"mega advisor" to the company.

Following a beta launch in May 2010, Uber's services and mobile app
officially launched in San Francisco in 2011. Originally, the application only
allowed users to hail a black luxury car and the price was 1.5 times that of a
taxi.

In February 2010, Ryan Graves became the first Uber employee, getting the
job by responding to a tweet from Kalanick announcing the job opening, and
receiving 5–10% of the company. Graves started out as general manager and
shortly after the launch was named as CEO. After ten months Kalanick
succeeded Graves as CEO in December 2010. Graves stepped down to
become the company's COO.

In 2011, the company changed its name from UberCab to Uber after
complaints from San Francisco taxi operators.

The company's early hires included a nuclear physicist, a computational

neuroscientist, and a machinery expert who worked on predicting demand for
private hire car drivers and where demand is highest.[68][78] In April 2012, in
Chicago, Uber launched a service where users were able to request a regular
taxi or an Uber driver via its mobile app.

UberX

24
In July 2012, the company introduced UberX, a service option that lets people
drive for Uber using non-luxury vehicles, subject to a background check,
registration requirement, and car standards.[81] At first, rates were similar to
those of taxis and were 35% cheaper than UberBLACK.[82] By early 2013, the
service was operating in 35 cities.[83] Uber allowed drivers to use their personal
vehicles as part of UberX starting in April 2013.[84] Rates were quickly
lowered, which caused some dissatisfaction among UberBLACK and taxi
drivers, whose earnings decreased as a result of the increased competition at
lower rates.

UberPOOL

In August 2014, after beta testing in the San Francisco Bay Area, Uber
launched UberPOOL, a carpooling service.[86][87] The service was launched in
Paris in November 2014,[88] New York City in December 2014,[89] China in
August 2015, [90] Washington, D.C. in October 2015,[91] London in December
2015,[92] the suburbs of Boston in January 2016,[93] Hyderabad, Kolkata
Mumbai, and Singapore in June 2016,[94][95] Delaware in September
2016,[96] Toronto(Brampton and Scarborough) in April 2017,[97] Nashville in
December 2017,[98] Sydney in April 2018,[99] and Melbourne in June 2018.

25
Self-driving car research

Uber autonomous vehicle Volvo XC90 in San Francisco

In early 2015, the company hired many researchers from

the robotics department of Carnegie Mellon University and established Uber's
Advanced Technologies Center in the Strip District, Pittsburgh to
develop self-driving cars.

On September 14, 2016, Uber launched its first self-driving car services to
select customers in Pittsburgh, including Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, using
a fleet of Ford Fusion cars each equipped with 20 cameras, seven
lasers, GPS, lidar, and radar equipment that enabled the car to create a three-
dimensional map utilizing landmarks and other contextual information to keep
track of its position.

On December 14, 2016, Uber began using self-driving Volvo XC90 SUVs in
its hometown of San Francisco.[107] On December 21, 2016, the California
Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the registration of the 16 vehicles
Uber was using for the test and forced the program to cease operations in
California.[108][109][110] Uber then moved the program to Arizona, where the cars
were able to pick up passengers, albeit with two Uber engineers in the front
seats as a safety precaution.[111] In March 2017, an Uber self-driving car was
flipped on its side by a vehicle that failed to yield.[112] In October 2017, Uber
started using only 1 test driver despite some employees' safety concerns.[113]

In November 2017, Uber announced a non-binding plan to buy up to 24,000

Volvo XC90 SUV vehicles designed to accept autonomous technology

26
(including a different type of steering and braking mechanism and sensors)
between 2019 and 2021.[114][115]

In March 2018, the death of Elaine Herzberg by an Uber self-driving vehicle

in Tempe, Arizona resulted in temporary pause to Uber's self driving vehicle
testing.[116] According to police, the woman was run down by the Uber vehicle
while attempting to cross the street, while the person in the vehicle was
watching videos on her phone.[116] Uber pulled its self-driving cars off all
public roads and quickly reached a settlement with the victim's
family.[117][118] There was disagreement among local authorities as to whether or
not the car or the victim was at fault.[119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126] In December
2018, after receiving local approval, Uber restarted testing of its self driving
cars, only during daylight hours and at slower speeds, in Pittsburgh [127][128] and
Toronto.[129]

Cancellation of research on autonomous trucks

After spending $925 million to develop autonomous trucks, Uber cancelled its
self-driving truck program in July 2018.[66] Uber acquired Otto for $625
million in 2016.[130][131] According to a February 2017 lawsuit filed by Waymo,
owned by an affiliate of Google, ex-Google employee Anthony
Levandowski allegedly "downloaded 9.7 GB of Waymo's highly confidential
files and trade secrets, including blueprints, design files and testing
documentation" before resigning to found Otto, which was purchased by
Uber.[132][133] A ruling in May 2017 required Uber to return documents to
Waymo.[134] The trial began February 5, 2018.[135] A settlement was announced
on February 8, 2018 in which Uber gave Waymo $244 million in Uber equity
and agreed not to infringe on Waymo's intellectual property.

27
Uber Eats

Main article: Uber Eats

In August 2014, Uber launched UberEATS, a food delivery service.[138][139]

Funding

In total, Uber has raised $24.2 billion from 22 rounds of venture capital and
private equity investors.

The founders invested $200,000 in seed money upon conception in 2009 In

2010, Uber raised $1.25 million in additional funding. By the end of 2011,
Uber had raised $44.5 million in funding. In 2013, Google Ventures invested
$258 million in the company based on a $3.4 billion pre-money valuation. In
December 2014, Chinese search engine Baidu made an investment in Uber of
an undisclosed amount.[147] The deal also involved connecting Uber with
Baidu's mapping apps.[147][148] In January 2015, Uber raised $1.6 billion
in convertible debt. In May 2015, Uber revealed plans to raise between $1.5
billion and $2 billion in new funding, raising the value of the company to $50
billion or higher. In September 2015, Uber raised another $1.2 billion, led by
another investment by Baidu.

In 2016, Toyota made an undisclosed investment in Uber and looked into

leasing options, which could potentially aid Uber drivers financially, a move
in response to the other partnerships between Toyota's and Uber's
counterparts. In June 2016, with plans to expand in the Middle East, Uber
received $3.5 billion from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. In
July that same year, Uber raised $1.15 billion in debt financing.

In August 2016, after facing tough competition in China, Uber sold its
operations in China to DiDi, in exchange for an 18% stake in Didi.[156] Didi
also agreed to invest $1 billion into Uber Global.[157] Uber had started

operations in China in 2014, under the name 优步 (yōubù).

28
In January 2018, the company raised $1.25 billion in cash from an investor
group including SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, and Sequoia Capital.
The financing valued the company at $48 billion.

In February 2018, Uber combined its operations

in Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Kazakhstan with those
of Yandex.Taxi and invested $225 million in the venture.

In March 2018, Uber merged its services in Southeast Asia with those
of Grab in exchange for a 27.5% ownership stake in Grab.

On August 27, 2018, Toyota announced a partnership with Uber to bring an

on-demand autonomous ride-hailing service to market, a deal that included a
$500 million investment from Toyota in Uber at a $72 billion valuation.

Filing for initial public offering

On December 8, 2018, Uber filed for an initial public offering; the company
could be valued as high as $120 billion.

Profitability

In 2014, Uber reported a loss of $671 million[169] on $495.3 million of revenue.

In 2015, Uber's revenue grew to an estimated $1.5 billion.

In 2016, Uber reported a $2.8 billion loss.

In 2017, losses grew 60% to $4.5 billion.

In the first quarter of 2018, Uber's loss, excluding the profit from the sale of
its operations in Southeast Asia to Grab, was $577 million.

In the second quarter of 2018, Uber's net loss was $891 million.

In the third quarter of 2018, revenue increased to $2.95 billion, net losses
increased to $932 million; EBITDA was $527 million.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, revenue increased to $3 Billion.

29
Management
Communications and policy executives

Bradley Tusk, a former campaign manager for Michael Bloomberg, played a

significant role in advising Uber on New York City regulations. Instead of
taking a $25,000 per month fee, Tusk received Uber stock as compensation,
which is now worth over $100 million.

From September 2014 to May 2015, Uber used the services of David
Plouffe.[178]

In May 2015, Rachel Whetstone became the senior vice president of policy
and communications. In April 2017, Whetstone left and was replaced with Jill
Hazelbaker.

CFO

On August 21, 2018, Uber announced the hire of Nelson Chai as chief
financial officer.

CPO

In November 2018, Uber hired Manik Gupta as chief product officer.[182]

Employee diversity

In April 2018, men accounted for 62.0% of overall company employment,

51.4% of support staff, and 82.1% of technology-related employment. In the
United States, White people made up 48.6% of the overall employment base
and Asian people account for 32.3%. However, for technology-related jobs,
White people were 46.3% of employees, while Asian people accounted for
44.7% of employment.

30
Criticism

See also: Sharing economy § Criticism and controversies, and Temporary

work § Legal issues

Criticism by the taxi industry

The taxi industry has claimed that TNCs skirt regulations that apply to
passenger transport and TNCs are therefore illegal taxicab operations. This
has resulted in additional regulations imposed on TNCs and, in some
jurisdictions, certain TNCs are banned from operating.

Effect on values of New York City taxi medallions

In New York City, use of TNCs has negatively affected the values of taxi
medallions, transferable permits or licenses authorizing the holder to pick up
passengers for hire. After soaring in value after the Great Recession due to
their perceived safety, New York City taxi medallions were again trading for
around $170,000 each in 2018. Annual rental rates were $30,000. A couple
of credit unions that lent money secured by medallions suffered from bank
failure.

31
Driver criticism of classification of independent contractors

Unless otherwise required by law, TNC drivers are independent

contractors and not employees. This designation may affect taxation, work
hours, and overtime benefits and lawsuits have been filed by drivers alleging
that they are entitled to the rights and remedies of being considered
"employees" under employment law. In response, TNCs say they provide
"flexible and independent jobs" for drivers.

In O'Connor v. Uber Technologies, a lawsuit filed in the United States District

Court for the Northern District of California on August 16, 2013, Uber drivers
pleaded that according to the California Labor Code they should be classified
as employees and receive reimbursement of business expenses such as gas and
vehicle maintenance costs. In September 2018, the United States Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the case cannot have class actionstatus
due to Uber's arbitration clause.

On October 28, 2016, in the case of Aslam v Uber BV, the Central
London Employment tribunal ruled that Uber drivers are "workers", rather
than self-employed individuals, and are entitled to the minimum wage under
the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, paid holiday, and other normal
worker entitlements. Two Uber drivers had brought the test case to the
employment tribunal with the assistance of the GMB Union, on behalf of a
group of drivers in London. Uber appealed the decision. In December 2018,
Uber lost an appeal of the case at the Court of Appeal, but was granted
permission to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

In March 2018, the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and

Research of Switzerland, gave the legal opinion that under the conditions that
bind drivers to Uber that they should be classified as employees.

32
Driver criticism of compensation

Driver's have complained that in some cases, after expenses, they earn less
than minimum wage. As a result, in some jurisdictions, such as New York
City, drivers are guaranteed a minimum wage.

Dynamic pricing

TNCs use dynamic pricing models; prices for the same route vary based on
the supply and demand for rides at the time the ride is requested. [193] When
rides are in high demand in a certain area and there are not enough drivers in
such area, fares increase to get more drivers to that area and to reduce demand
for rides in that area.[194] The rate quoted to the rider reflects such dynamic
pricing.

TNCs were criticized for extreme surcharges during emergencies such

as Hurricane Sandy, the 2014 Sydney hostage crisis, and the June 2017
London Bridge attack, especially when taxis offered to transport riders for
free; however, in many cases, the surcharges were refunded by the TNCs and
TNCs later agreed to either not charge surcharges, or in some cases, offer free
rides, during certain emergencies.

Increased traffic congestion

TNCs were criticized for increasing traffic congestion in New York City and
San Francisco.[199][200] A report published by Schaller Consulting in July 2018
showed that traffic congestion increased as a result of TNCs.

However, some reports say TNCs reduce traffic congestion; since their cars
"can't accept street hails, they do much less unnecessary driving-around than
either government-licensed/regulated taxi cabs (who are cruising for hails) or
individuals (who are looking for a parking spot)."[203] A March 2016 study by
Judd Cramer and Alan B. Krueger of the National Bureau of Economic
Research showed that a ride via a TNC uses capacity more efficiently than
traditional taxicabs as TNC drivers are more likely to have a passenger than a
taxicab.

33
Reduced usage of public transportation

Studies have shown that TNCs have led to a reduction in use of public
transportation.[205]

Lack of wheelchair accessible vans

In some areas, TNCs are required by law to have a certain amount

of wheelchair accessible vans (WAVs) on the road at any given time. This can
be a difficult requirement for TNCs to meet because TNCs don't provide
vehicles and most drivers do not own a WAV, causing a shortage.

Drivers using their phones while driving

When a customer makes a pick-up request, a driver is notified via mobile

app and is provided the customer's location. The driver has approximately 15
seconds to tap the phone to accept the request. In many jurisdictions, tapping a
phone while driving is against the law as it could result in distracted
driving.[207]

Misleading drivers of potential earnings

In January 2017, Uber agreed to pay $20 million to the US government to

resolve accusations by the Federal Trade Commission of having misled
drivers about potential earnings.

Alleged short-changing of drivers

In 2017, lawyers for drivers filed a class action lawsuit that alleged that Uber
did not provide drivers with the 20% of collections they were entitled to.[211]

In May 2017, after the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) filed a
class action lawsuit in federal court in New York, Uber admitted to
underpaying New York City drivers tens of millions of dollars over 2.5 years
by calculating driver commissions on a net amount. Uber agreed to pay the
amounts owed plus interest.

34
Driver refusal to transport a service animal

In March 2018, a lawsuit filed against Uber in the United States accused the
company's drivers of not serving a woman with cerebral palsy due to
her service dog, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the
Texas Human Resources Code.[213][214]

Criticism for collecting fares during a taxi strike

In late January 2017, Uber was targeted by GrabYourWallet for collecting

fares during a taxi strike in New York City in protest of Trump travel
ban Executive Order 13769.[215] The Order had triggered a taxi strike in New
York City, to which Uber responded by removing surge pricing from JFK
airport, where Muslim refugees had been detained upon entry. Uber was also
targeted because then-CEO Travis Kalanick joined an Economic Advisory
Council with Donald Trump.[216] A social media campaign known as
#deleteuber was formed in protest, resulting in approximately 200,000 users
deleting the app.[217] Uber added user account deletion to meet the resulting
surge in requests.[218]Statements were e-mailed to former users who had
deleted their accounts, asserting that the company would assist refugees, and
that CEO Kalanick joining the Council was not an endorsement of President
Trump.[219] On February 2, 2017, Kalanick resigned from the business advisory
council.[220]

Aggressive strategy for dealing with regulators[edit]

When Uber was led by Travis Kalanick, Uber took an aggressive strategy in
dealing with obstacles, including regulators. In 2014, Kalanick said "You have
to have what I call principled confrontation." Uber's strategy was generally to
commence operations in a city, then, if it faced regulatory opposition, Uber
mobilized public support for its service and mounted a political campaign,
supported by lobbyists, to change regulations.[221][222][223]

In 2014, while in the midst of a regulatory battle, Portland, Oregon's

transportation commissioner called Uber management "a bunch of thugs".[224]

35
In June 2014, Uber distributed to its riders the personal contact information of
a commissioner in Virginia who opposed the company and told riders to flood
his inbox with complaints.[225][226]

In November 2017, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi dropped the "win at all costs"
strategy and implemented new values for the company, including "we do the
right thing".

Alleged cancellation of ride requests to disrupt competitors

Uber issued an apology on January 24, 2014, after documents were leaked
to Valleywag and TechCrunch saying that, earlier in the month, Uber
employees in New York City deliberately ordered rides from Gett, a
competitor, only to cancel them later. The purpose of the fake orders was two-
fold: wasting drivers' time to obstruct legitimate customers from securing a
car, and offering drivers incentives—including cash—to join Uber.[228]

Operation SLOG plan to disrupt Lyft

Following Lyft's expansion into New York City in July 2014, Uber, with the
assistance of TargetCW, a San Diego, California-based employment agency,
sent emails offering a "huge commission opportunity" to several contractors
based on the "personal hustle" of the participants. Those who responded to the
solicitation were offered a meeting with Uber marketing managers who
attempted to create a "street team" to gather intelligence about Lyft's launch
plans in New York City and recruit their drivers to Uber. Recruits were given
2 Uber-branded iPhones (one a backup in case the person was identified by
Lyft) and a series of valid credit card numbers to create dummy Lyft accounts.
Participants were also required to sign non-disclosure agreements.[229][230]

In August 2014, Lyft reported that 177 Uber employees had ordered and
canceled approximately 5,560 Lyft rides since October 2013, and that it had
found links to Uber recruiters by cross-referencing the phone numbers
involved. The report identified one Lyft passenger who canceled 300 rides
from May 26 to June 10, 2014, and who was identified as an Uber recruiter by

36
7 different Lyft drivers. Uber did not apologize, but suggested that the
recruitment attempts were possibly independent parties trying to make money.

Evasion of law enforcement operations

Greyball

Uber developed an internal software tool called Greyball, which uses data
collected from the Uber mobile app other means, to avoid giving rides to
certain individuals. The tool was used starting in 2014. By showing "ghost
cars" driven by fake drivers to the targeted individuals in the Uber mobile app,
and by giving real drivers a means to cancel rides requested by those
individuals, Uber was able to avoid giving rides to known law enforcement
officers in areas where its service is illegal. Investigative journalism by The
New York Times and the resulting report, published on March 3, 2017, made
public Uber's use of Greyball since 2014, describing it as a way to evade city
code enforcement officials in Portland, Oregon, Australia, South Korea, and
China.[233] At first, in response to the report, Uber stated that Greyball was
designed to deny rides to users who violate Uber's terms of service, including
those involved in sting operations.[233][234] According to Uber, Greyball can
"hide the standard city app view for individual riders, enabling Uber to show
that same rider a different version". Uber reportedly used Greyball to identify
government officials through factors such as whether a user frequently opens
the app near government offices, a review of social media profiles by Uber
employees to identify law enforcement personnel, and the credit cards
associated with the Uber account.

On March 6, 2017, the City of Portland, Oregon announced an investigation

into whether Uber had used its Greyball software tool to obstruct the
enforcement of city regulations.[235] The investigation by the Portland Bureau
of Transportation (PBOT) found that: "Uber used Greyball software to
intentionally evade PBOT’s officers from December 5 to December 19, 2014
and deny 29 separate ride requests by PBOT enforcement officers."[236]}}
Following the release of the audit, Portland's commissioner of police

37
suggested that the city subpoena Uber to force the company to turn over
information on how Uber used software to evade regulatory officials.[237]

On March 8, 2017, Uber admitted that it had used Greyball to thwart

government regulators and pledged to stop using the service for that purpose.

In May 2017, the United States Department of Justice opened a criminal

investigation into Uber's use of Greyball to avoid local law enforcement
operations.

Ripley

After a police raid in Uber's Brussels office, a January 2018 report

by Bloomberg News stated that "Uber routinely used Ripley to thwart police
raids in foreign countries."[241] Developed as a type of secret "panic button"
system, initially called "unexpected visitor protocol", then nicknamed
"Ripley", to disrupt government raids on Uber's offices by locking, shutting
off, and changing passwords on staff computers upon a raid; Uber likely used
this button at least 24 times, from spring 2015 until late 2016.

User privacy and data breaches

God view

On November 19, 2014, then U.S. Senator Al Franken, Chairman of

the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and
the Law, sent a letter to Kalanick regarding user privacy.[244][245][246] Concerns
were raised about internal misuse of the company's data, in particular the
ability of Uber staff to track the movements of its customers, known as "God
View". In 2011, a venture capitalist disclosed that Uber staff members were
using the function to track journalists and politicians as well as using the
feature recreationally. Staff members viewed being tracked by Uber as a
positive reflection on the subject's character.[247] An Uber job interviewee said
that he was given unrestricted access to Uber's customer tracking function as
part of the interview process, and that he retained that access for several hours
after the interview ended.

38
Data breaches

On February 27, 2015, Uber admitted that it had suffered a data breach more
than 9 months earlier. Names and license plate information of approximately
50,000 drivers were inadvertently disclosed.[249] Uber discovered this leak in
September 2014 but waited more than 5 months to notify the affected people.

An announcement in November 2017 revealed that in 2016, a separate data

breach disclosed personal information on 600,000 drivers and 57 million
customers—including names, email addresses, phone numbers, and driving
license information. Using employees' usernames and passwords that had
been compromised in previous breaches (a "credential stuffing" method),
attackers gained access to a private Github repository used by Uber
developers. The hackers subsequently located credentials for the
company's Amazon Web Services datastore in the repository files, and were
therefore able to obtain access to the account records of users and drivers, as
well as other data contained in over 100 Amazon S3 buckets. Uber paid a
$100,000 ransom to the hackers on the promise they would delete the stolen
data.[251][252] The company was subsequently criticized for concealing the loss
of data.[253] CEO Dara Khosrowshahi apologized.[254][255] Uber's British
divisions were fined £385,000 (reduced to £308,000) by the Information
Commissioner's Office.

In September 2018, Uber settled with the Federal Trade Commission for $148
million and admitted that its claim that internal access to consumers' personal
information was closely monitored on an ongoing basis was false. Uber also
stated that it had failed to live up to its promise to provide reasonable security
for consumer data. It was the largest multi-state settlement related to a data
breach.

39
Safety concerns

It is unclear if Uber is less or more safe than taxicabs, as major cities don't
have much data on taxi-related incidents.

Allegations of inadequate background checks and vetting of drivers

Concerns regarding Uber's background checks were raised after reports

of sexual abuse of passengers by Uber drivers.

In February 2016, Uber was criticized following the 2016 Kalamazoo

shootings, a shooting spree in Kalamazoo, Michigan that left six people dead
and two wounded. It was committed by Jason Dalton, who was driving for
Uber while conducting the shooting. During the ensuing seven-hour manhunt,
authorities believe that Dalton continued to drive and accept fares. Uber was
aware of issues with Dalton's driving skills, having received multiple
complaints, though critics agree that Dalton would not have raised any red
flags since he did not have a criminal record.[261]

In November 2017, The Colorado Public Utilities Commission fined Uber

$8.9 million after discovering that 57 drivers in the state had violations in their
background checks. The fine amount equaled $2,500 per day that an
unqualified driver worked.[262]

Sexual harassment allegations and management shakeup (2017)

On February 20, 2017, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler stated that she was
subjected to sexual harassment by a manager and subsequently threatened
with termination of employment by another manager if she continued to report
the incident. Kalanick was reportedly aware of the harassment issues.[263][264]

CTO Thuan Pham was alleged to have had knowledge of and to ignore Susan
Fowler's sexual harassment allegations; however, investigations

by TheInformation and Buzzfeed showed this to not be the case, allowing

Pham to keep his job.

40
Uber hired former attorney general Eric Holder to investigate the
claims.[267] Arianna Huffington, a member of Uber's board of directors, also
oversaw the investigation.[268] Fowler likened Uber's culture to A Game of
Thrones, in which rivals vie for the throne the same way Uber employees
were encouraged to vie for power and aggression and betrayal was
common.[269][270][271] On February 20, 2017, Kalanick led a meeting with
employees that was described by the participants as honest and raw.

On February 27, 2017, Amit Singhal, Uber's Senior Vice President of

Engineering, was forced to resign after it came to light that he failed to
disclose a sexual harassment claim against him that occurred while he was the
Vice President of Google Search.

On June 6, 2017, Uber announced that it fired over 20 employees as a result of

the investigation. On June 13, 2017, Kalanick took an indefinite leave of
absence from Uber. On June 20, 2017, after multiple shareholders reportedly
demanded his resignation, Kalanick resigned as CEO.

Scandals and departure of Emil Michael

At a private dinner in November 2014, Emil Michael, senior vice president of

Uber, suggested that Uber hire a team of opposition researchers and
journalists, with a million-dollar budget, to "dig up dirt" on the personal lives
and backgrounds of media figures who reported negatively about Uber.
Specifically, he targeted Sarah Lacy, editor of PandoDaily, who, in an article
published in October 2014, accused Uber of sexism and misogyny in its
advertising. Michael issued a public apology and apologized to Lacy in a
personal email, claiming that Uber would never actually undertake the
plan. Several journalists deleted their Uber apps. After several additional
scandals involving Emil Michael, including an escort-karaoke bar scandal in
Seoul and the questioning of the medical records of a rape victim in India, he
left the company in June 2017 when Kalanick, who reportedly was protecting
Michael, resigned.

41
Settlement with victims

In August 2018, Uber agreed to pay a total of $7 million to 480 workers to

settle claims of gender discrimination, harassment and hostile work
environment.

Use of offshore companies to minimize tax liability

In November 2017, the Paradise Papers, a set of confidential electronic

documents relating to offshore investment, revealed that Uber is one of many
corporations that used an offshore company to minimize taxes.

Awards
In 2013, USA Today named Uber its tech company of the year.

42
Ola Cabs

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

Ola Cabs

Type Private

 Transportation,
Industry
 Delivery (commerce)

Founded 3 December 2010; 8 years

ago in Mumbai, Maharashtra,
India

Founder BhavishAggarwal
AnkitBhati

Headquarters Bangalore, Karnataka

India[1]

Area served India, Australia, New

Zealand, UK (169+ cities)

Key people BhaveshAgarwal (CEO)

AnkitBhati (CTO)

43
 Products Mobile app, website

 Vehicle for hire

Services
 Delivery (commerce)

Revenue ₹758
crore(US$110 million)[2] (FY
2016)

Number of 6,000 (2017)

employees

Subsidiaries Foodpanda India

Website Ola Cabs

Ola Cabs (stylised as OLΛ), is an Indian origin online transportation network

company developed by ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd. As of December 2018, Ola was
valued at about $5.7 billion.

Ola Cabs was founded on 3 December 2010 as an online cab aggregator in Mumbai,
and is now based in Bangalore. As of 2018, the company has expanded to a network
of more than 10,00,000 vehicles across 169 cities. In November 2014, Ola
diversified to incorporate autorickshaws on a trial basis in Bangalore. After the trial
phase, Ola Auto expanded to other cities

like Delhi, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata starting in December 2014.

In January 2018, Ola extended into its first overseas market, Australia, and in New
Zealand in September 2018 It also has presence in UK.

44
Istory

In March 2014, Ola Cabs acquired Bengaluru based taxi service TaxiForSure for
approximately ₹1,394 crore (US$200 million). From 25 June 2015, Ola users gained
access to TFS cabs via the Ola mobile application. In November 2015, Ola acquired
Geotagg, a trip-planning applications company, for an undisclosed sum.[9]

In December 2017, Ola acquired Foodpanda's business in India. In April 2018, Ola
made its second acquisition with Ridlr (formerly Traffline), a public transport
ticketing app.

In August 2018 Ola financed Series A funding of the scooter rent startup Vogo, and
in December, Ola invested another $100 million.

Services

Ola offers different levels of service, ranging from economic to luxury travel. The
cabs are reserved through a mobile app and also through their website and the
service accepts both cash and cashless payments with Ola money. It claims to clock
an average of more than 1,500,000 bookings per day and commands 60% of the
market share in India.

Criticism

Technology

Ola Cabs' technology came under criticism regarding the security of its mobile app.
The API calls could be replayed to top up its wallet.

In August 2016, a privacy breach occurred when customers' details such as names,
phone numbers and addresses, in Bangalore, were received as SMS messages by an
individual in Chennai. Although these unanticipated messages were reported to Ola,
the company ignored them, even under the threat of being reported to
the TRAI.[17] The issue was reportedly fixed three weeks later after receiving
considerable media coverage and social media attention.

45
 Overcharging and transparency in charging

The refund policy of OlaCabs has been criticized because of charging errors caused
by technical glitches in their system. As of December 2018, there were 190 negative
reviews on ola cabs posted on Trip advisor by dissatisfied customers.

Concerns of drivers

Ola from January 2017 has been highly criticised for continuously dropping the
driver incentives which in turn is affecting driver-partner's monthly income. Most
nowadays fail to cope up with their monthly EMIs and other dues. Daily income of
cab drivers is now equal to auto drivers running in the city after deducting all dues.

Charges comprise:

 Base fare (fixed amount)

 Distance fare (charged per kilometre)

 Ride time fare (charged per time taken to travel)

 Peak pricing (direct ratio depending on demand for cabs)

 GST (5%)

 Toll charges (toll collection if crossing a toll junction)

Driver credibility

Panic button for passengers in an Ola car in Kolkata

Delhi Transport authority in early 2015 questioned the credibility and required
verification of drivers working for Ola, along with other competitors such as Uber.
The inquiry revealed that approximately 80% of drivers amongst all services did not
possess permits to ply commercial transport services in Delhi. Drivers also
protested outside the Kukatapally, Hyderabad office of Ola, demanding more
transparency over payments.

46
Culture

Various reasons apart from gender diversity issues have caused a lot of attrition at
Ola, called "ola's culture problem".

Redefining Mobility for Billions

Founded in 2011 by BhavishAggarwal and AnkitBhati, Ola is one of the world’s

largest ride-sharing companies. Ola integrates city transportation for customers
and driver-partners onto a mobile technology platform ensuring convenient,
transparent, and quick service fulfilment. Ola is focused on leveraging the best
of technology and building innovative solutions ground-up thatare relevant at
global scale. Notably, in 2016, Ola Play the world’s first connected car platform
for ride-sharing was launched, transforming commuting experiences and setting
the tone for global innovation in this space. Beyond offering a highly personal
experience for users during their rides, Ola Play also allows its partners like
Microsoft, Apple Music, SonyLiv amongst others, to build a high quality
interactive and productive experience for its users. Using the Ola mobile app,
users across 110+ cities, can connect with over 1,000,000 driver-partners across
cabs, auto-rickshaws, and taxis. Driven by a hyperlocal approach, Ola is
committed to its mission of building mobility for a billion people.

Life at Ola

We believe that innovation is a part of our DNA and every employee embodies
Ola's larger goals and values. We encourage all our employees to practice the
utmost creative freedom in everything that they do, allowing for ground -
breaking ideas, innovation and steady advancement. Ola's employees understand
the value of being output-focused, hardworking and passionate, and work
towards achieving the core vision of Ola, i.e., to build mobility for a billion
people. As one one of the world’s largest ride-sharing companies, we take pride
in being entrepreneurial, experimental and innovative!

47
OLA Vision & Mission

Vision
Create an enduring and vibrant global community by fostering the shared heritage of
The Lawrence School, Lovedale, alumni.
Mission
Enhance the interaction of the OLs so as to strengthen the ties amongst the alumni.

Plan of action

Creating a professional secretariat, governed by the committee to handle alumni co-

ordination and finances.

Maintaining a current database accessible to members containing details of the

alumni

Providing easy, open and transparent channels for communication within the
community. Maintaining a proper and active website

Publishing a periodic Newsletter that will report special achievements, events,

relocation etc.

Encouraging local, regional and global opportunities for meetings and interaction
building formal chapters across the world

Providing fore for mentoring and supporting those amongst the alumni who need
career or personal advice and possibly financial or investment support provided by
members who are in a position to do so. Maintaining a cordial relationship with the
alma mater and provide any help that the community or it’s members may deem fit,
while refraining from interfering in it’s management and also discouraging it’s
members from doing so.

Encouraging and helping it’s members to participate regularly at the Founders so as

to maintain the affinity towards the alma mater

Encouraging the alumni to champion the cause of the institution – it will ultimately
enrich both the institutions

48
 CHAPTER-IV
DATA ANALYSIS
AND
INTERPRETATION

49
 Table 1: Demographic profile of respondents

N=51
Gender
Male 60 58.3%
Female 43 41.7%
Age
<25 19 18.4 %
25 to <40 41 39.8%
40 to < 60 25 24.3%
60 and Above 18 17.5%
Monthly Income
< Rs 15000 / Month 39 37.9 %
Rs 15000/- to < 30000/ Month 43 41.7 %
Rs. 500001 – 1000000/ annum 16 15.5%
> Rs 1000000/ annum 5 4.9 %

70

60

50

40 Series3
Series2
30 60
Series1
20 43 41 39 43
25
10 19 18 16
5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Hypothesis Testing

To identify the difference between demographic profile of Ola and Uber users’
including impact of gender, income and age, hypothesishave been tested using
Chi square test. The result obtained indicated that gender has significant impact
on choice of cab service as p value was 0.023 < 0.05(Table: 2(b)) so null
hypothesis has been rejected. Table: 2(a) also indicated that female prefer Uber
cab service over Ola.

50
 H11: Gender has significant impact on choice of cab services.

Table: 2(a) Impact of gender on choice of cab services

Name of Service * Gender Crosstabulation

Count
Gender

Female Male Total

Name of Service Ola 24 27 51
Ube
36 16 52
r
Total 60 43 103

120

100

80

60 Name of Service

40 Total

20

0
Gender Total

Table: 2(b) Impact of gender on choice of cab services

51
 Chi-Square Tests

Asymp Exact Exact

. Sig. Sig. Sig.
Valu (2- (2- (1-
e df sided) sided) sided)

Pearson
5.205
Chi- a
1 .023
Square
Continu
ity
4.333 1 .037
Correcti
onb
Likelih
ood 5.252 1 .022
Ratio
Fisher's
Exact .028 .018
Test
Linear-
by-
Linear 5.154 1 .023
Associa
tion
N of
Valid 103
Casesb

52
 120
100
80
60 Exact Sig. (1-sided)
40
Exact Sig. (2-sided)
20
0 Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
df
Value

a. 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is
21.29.
b. Computed only for a
2x2 table

To study the impact of income hypothesis H12has been tested and result indicated
that there is no significant impact of income on choice of cab services as p ( 0.542)
>0.05 ( Table:3) and null hypothesis has been accepted.
H12: Income has significant impact on choice of cab services.

53
 Table: 3 Impact of income on choice of cab services

Chi-Square Tests
Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson
2.152a 3 .542
Chi-Square
Likelihood
2.166 3 .539
Ratio
Linear-by-
Linear .129 1 .719
Association
N of Valid
103
Cases

120
100
80
60
40
Value
20
df
0
Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

To study the impact of age, hypothesis H13 has been tested and result indicated that
there is no significant impact of age on choice of cab services as p (0.195) >0.05
(Table:4) and null hypothesis has been accepted.
H13: Age has significant impact on choice of cab services.

54
 Table: 4Impact of age on choice of cab services
Chi-Square Tests

Va
lue df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson 4.7
Chi- 00 3 .195
a
Square
Likelihoo 4.8
3 .183
d Ratio 52
Linear-
by-Linear 1.0
1 .303
Associati 63
on
N of
10
Valid
3
Cases

55
 120
100
80
60
40
Value
20
df
0
Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

a. cells (25.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count
is 2.48.

To compare customer’s perception of safetytowards both the cab services hypothesis

H2has been tested and result indicated there is difference between consumer’s
perception towards safety for both the cab services as p value(0.006) <0.05.
Consumers feel more safe with Ola cab service than Uber (Table:5(b) ,Figure:1).
H2: There is significant difference between Ola and Uber consumers perception
towards safety.

56
 Table: 5 (a) Consumer Perception towards Safety.

Name of Service * I feel Safe while traveling with cab including night travel.
Crosstabulation
Count
I feel Safe while traveling with cab
including night travel.
Yes No Total
Name of Service O
37 14 51
la
U
be 24 28 52
r
Total 61 42 103

300

200

100 Total

0
I feel Safe Total Name of Service
while
traveling
with cab
including
night
travel.

57
 Chi-Square Tests

Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

a
Pearson Chi-Square 7.428 1 .006
Continuity
6.375 1 .012
Correctionb
Likelihood Ratio 7.539 1 .006
Fisher's Exact Test
Linear-by-Linear
7.356 1 .007
Association
N of Valid Casesb 103

120
100
80
60
40
Value
20
0 df
Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

a. 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 20.80.
b. Computed only for a 2x2 table

58
 Table: 5 (b) Consumer Perception towards Safety

Figure:1 Consumer Perception towards Safety

To compare customer’s satisfaction level towards both the cab services hypothesis
H3 has been tested and result indicated there is no difference between consumer’s
satisfaction level for both the cab services as p value(0.233) >0.05.

H3: There is significant difference between Ola and Uber Consumers satisfaction
level.

59
 Table:6Consumer’s Satisfaction Level
Chi-Square Tests

Valu Asymp. Sig. (2-

e df sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 5.580

a
4 .233

Likelihood Ratio 6.012 4 .198

Linear-by-Linear
.152 1 .697
Association
N of Valid Cases 103

120
100
80
60
Chi-Square Tests Value
40
20
Chi-Square Tests df
0
Chi-Square Tests Asymp.
Sig. (2-sided)

a. 4 cells (40.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected
count is .50.

So overall it can be concluded that female prefer Uber service over Ola but while it
comes to safety consumer feel safer with Ola than Uber.

60
CHAPTER-V
FINDINGS
SUGGESTION
CONCLUSION

61
 FINDINGS

The study was undertaken for customers of Uber and Ola in India to assess
the Service quality of Uber and Ola from the customer’s perspective. The
study also aimed to identify differences between expectations and
perceptions of customers from service quality dimensions and compares
differences between Uber and Ola. The objectives of this study were
achieved by using the SERVQUAL questionnaire. A cluster sampling
technique was also used for collecting the data. The questionnaires were
distributed amongst 128 customers who had availed the services of Uber
and Ola in Hyderabad. The results demonstrated that there was a gap
between expectations and perceptions of customers from dimensions of
service quality of Uber and Ola. The gap was even more in case of Ola
when compared to Uber with respect to almost all the dimensions of service
quality.

62
 CONCLUSION

Ola has seen a tremendous growth in the taxi market sector. There is surely
no looking back for Ola as it is improving day by day in every prospect.
Revenue of Ola has increased almost 10 folds over the past four years.
Today, it is the largest cab service provider in the country. Ola has
successfully achieved public support and has created a buzz about its brand
in the market. Furthermore if some more technological advancement is
done at Ola then the customer base can be increased by providing better
experience to the customer. Ola now has shifted its focus on target markets
and is focused on providing desired service to the people in the target
market. The economic segregation depending upon the income group and
requirement of the people is well appreciated. On one hand Ola promotes
its brand by traditional methods and on the other hand it also uses the
modern techniques of promotion. At the same time it does not forget to
highlight its name in social safety, creating social awareness and promoting
acts of humanity. The key element in making Ola a successful brand is the
efficient and quick accessibility which is offered by the firm. The firm not
only improves through its intense promotional activities but also due to the
services and comfort offered to users and employees. Ola is making you
sluggish. A single tick gets you a taxicab. Habits are less demanding to
develop when the change required in conduct is minor. What's more, once a
habit is shaped, it’s difficult to backtrack.

So OLA has been and will be a great technology platform for transportation
and offering flexible options of booking and payment to customers and
flexible timings and facilities to drivers. And shortly, we are going to
experience a big boom and great facility of getting our grocery delivered to
us with ease. Kudos to the idea of the founders and something more to
make us proud is that it has been started in India by two genius Indians.

63
 SUGGESTION

The study reveal the customer satisfaction about the call taxi services, the
factors they give importance in selection of the service provider, tariff,
comfort, convenience, service quality and customer care rendered. This will
help the service providers as an important input to understand about the
customer satisfaction about their service, and to what extent they are with
us by utilizing our services. The finding depicts the exact replica of the
customer’s mindset and level of satisfaction towards the service providers
operating the call taxi in the Hyderabad market. Appropriate suggestions
were provided considering the facts and feasibility, if the market players
take these outcomes into account and act, its sure to create fullest
satisfaction rather delight the customers and expand the market base. This
will also help the service providers full fill the customer expectation that
fetches the goodwill and develop their brand image in the market.

64
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