How many of us have needed a lift home after a night out? Needed a lift to the airport? On holidays and don’t have access to a car? Are stranded in middle of Sydney or Melbourne?

Well I am sure you have all answered these questions with the touch of a button, a black and white U-shaped app icon. Yes, I am sure you are all thinking of one word, Uber! They solve a problem for many, getting from A to B when other forms of transport are unavailable. The Uber business model is on-demand transportation service which has changed the taxi industry immensely. By a touch of a button, Uber arrives at the location where you are, in the minimum amount of time possible to drive you to your required destination.

Uber was founded by Travis Kalanick and Garret Camp when they were out one winters night in Paris and couldn’t get a ride home. It is at this moment Travis and Garret came up with the idea of Uber in 2009. (Uber, 2019) Uber then came into the Australian market in 2012, it did so with a great deal of enthusiasm and excitement (Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, 2018). Uber is worth $72 billion; this value shows just how successful this business really is. Here is one of the many examples of Uber’s Business model:

Uber is available to all ages and social groups, whether work related or for university students. As of 2018 Uber has 110 million worldwide users and have approximately 3 million registered drivers (Iqbal, 2019). Uber doesn’t employ its drivers, instead It partners with them. Individuals wanting to partner with Uber have to go through the driving requirements which first off must have a licence and their own car. Uber is rather a technology or service provider, as drivers can set their own work hours and have the right to accept or deny certain trips. But how does Uber make their money? Well firstly, they charge their customer for rides and secondly through promotional offering and partnerships.

Uber has shaken things up within the taxi industry. Taxi’s caused hassle and time; language barriers, payment, untrustworthiness, ordering to correct location etc. Uber digital channel is available worldwide allowing anyone to access its app on android or IOS, broadening its customer bases. Uber works with certain key partners to make their business expansion efficient and easy. They use google maps to navigate and have easier access to worldwide mapping. Their partnership with Adyen to process all uber payments and their app with the App Store (Minseng, 2019)

                                                                         

From its success it has looked at new business models to use in combination with its brand to provide new and ongoing services to its existing customers base and generate further sales through new and existing customers. Not only Uber is in the personal transport industry but now with UberEats it offers transport of food serving in three different segments; Bikes, restaurants and users.

References

App Store. (2019). ‎Uber. [online] Available at: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/uber/id368677368 [Accessed 2 Sep. 2019].

Iqbal, M. (2019). Uber Revenue and Usage Statistics (2019). [online] Business of Apps. Available at:

https://www.businessofapps.com/data/uber-statistics/ [Accessed 2 Sep. 2019].

Minium, A. (2018). A Day in the Life Of Your Uber Driver. [online] Medium. Available at: View at Medium.com [Accessed 2 Sep. 2019].

Minseng, G. (2019). Uber – Business Models Inc.. [online] Business Models Inc. Available at: https://www.businessmodelsinc.com/exponential-business-model/uber/ [Accessed 2 Sep. 2019].

Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. (2018). Uber in Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/uber-in-australia [Accessed 2 Sep. 2019].