Uber Connected
Ever since its debut, the online taxi app has had a very polarized reputation. Some love the convenience it brings to traveling, with prices that can be lower than using a taxi, while others refuse to trust it due to its nature of employing anyone with a license who’s willing to give somebody a lift, and the less than ideal situation for the drivers. Regardless of what you think of it, Uber has been doing something right; they took the outdated model of taxi companies and modernized it, making what used to be a relatively unenjoyable service a luxury. There are however drawbacks to modernizing things. Just the other day, it was discovered that it is possible to view user’s trip data if they decided to use the “Share Your ETA” feature. This oversight has caused many to criticize the app, as their exact locations, and destinations can be viewed by anyone with access to the internet. There is clearly a danger in keeping all trip information in a single database, but I personally don’t believe that this will hurt the overall success of the app. Uber has proven to be a well-established and trusted company, so this oversight most likely won’t happen again.
Uber relies on its growing network of drivers and customers. Using its GPS based system, the app shows users all of the Ubers in the area, and will always call the closest cab. This relates to strong and weak ties. In the Uber customer network, the strength of ties are determined by physical distance, where the loser the cab, the stronger the tie, and more likely it will get called over a cab that is further away. Distance isn’t the only determent of tie strength though, as the app allows you to rate the driver on your experience with them, as well as leave a comment about their service. These combined factors determine which drivers get fares, and which ones don’t. Another factor to the Uber network is where all the current cabs are located. As a driver, your app gives a heat map of where other Ubers are, so that the network of drivers doesn’t over saturated in certain areas, allowing more drivers to get consistent fares, and ensuring that people are able to use the service in a larger area. The tightly connected network that Uber relies on is what keeps it above the competition. By using a distance based system, users will never need to wait long for their ride to arrive, and will not have to worry about the quality of the driver.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/uber-pulls-down-share-your-eta-links-that-went-public/ar-AAdYKAv