Digital Presentation Topic: Uber YuQiao Chai 27284654

What is Uber? Uber is an American international transportation network company. Uber is on-demand car service. It provides a new way for passenger to request the private drivers through applications for smart phone. The internet-based taxi-hailing services like Uber are growing by leaps and bounds.

Uber Market China’ characteristics: large, lots of congested cities and poor public transit networks. Now, Uber’s plan is turn China into its biggest market. The graph shows growth rates for Uber in cities around the world. (James Cook, 2015)

Branding Strategy Personalized service Easy to use (thru smart phone app) Better quality (ratings & feedback) Reliable (arrival on time) Fare auto deduct by phone app Comfortable interior Convenient of pickup

Target customers Urban and Metropolitan Smartphone Owning Young and Adult

How to use it? First, tap to set your pickup location. Request your ride and a driver will accept. Enter the address or name of your destination. After pickup, we show the driver where you’re going… …and we’ll show you the route and ETA. (Uber Official Website, no date)

Technological affordances Cooperate with the local companies – Baidu Map. This agreement means Uber will be able to use Baidu’s mapping and mobile technology. Both are key technology that Uber needs to connect drivers and riders. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and Baidu CEO Robin Li shake hands to seal the deal. (Rooney, B. 2014)

User Experiences Localization & Personalization Always has some marketing campaigns, let customer keep feeling fresh. Uber’s map interface user experience Frictionless payment function

User experience: not safety The Uber driver is jailed for life for raping a young female passenger in India: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3301849/Uber-driver-jailed-life-raping-young-female-passenger-India.html#v-7412401238651258375 (30 seconds video) (Daily mail. 2015)

Themes and arguments Trust and Safety issues. Alleged (sexual) assaults. Alleged Kidnapping. Legal Problems. Regulatory laws– illegal taxi operation? Banned in many cities. Balance the relationship with traditional taxi industry and government. The future development of Uber in China.

Engaging with academic research Ulysses X. Dryver. (2015) Uber-X uber alles. TEM21 LLC. Pp38-42. Gilbert, G and Samuels, R. (2011) The Taxicab: An Urban Transportation Survivor. The University of North Carolina Press. 3, p25-28. Branson, E. (2015) Uber: How to Make Money With Uber. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Chapter 2-3. Graham,T and Barter, P. (2015) The Uber of Everything. Volleyball Magazine.

References: Daily mail. (2015) The Uber driver is jailed for life for raping a young female passenger in India. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3301849/Uber-driver-jailed-life-raping-young-female-passenger-India.html#v-7412401238651258375 [Accessed 10/Jan/2016] Cook, J. (2015) Uber is raising even more money in China. Business Insider. Available at: http://uk.businessinsider.com/uber-raises-money-from-chinese-investment-firm-in-deal-that-hints-at-upcoming-ipo-2015-6 [Accessed 10/Jan/2016] Rooney, B. (2014) Uber to use Baidu’s maps and apps in China. Available at: http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/17/news/companies/baidu-uber-maps/ [Accessed 10/Jan/2016] Uber official website. Available at: https://www.uber.com/features [Accessed 08/Jan/2016]