創新的叫車服務 Uber

數位時代報導 (高檔叫車服務 Uber，正式登陸台北，2013-07-30)

成立於 2009 年的 Uber，是一款高級叫車服務 App，已在全球 36 個城市營運。使用者下載 App 註冊和綁定信用卡後，即可透過Uber預定高級賓士車，車子會在五到十分鐘抵達上車地點。

使用者可透過 App 預估從 A 到 B 點的所需費用，也可查看車子的行進過程，到達目的地後，整趟路程的費用則透過信用卡直接扣款，不須付現。創新模式曾在 2012 年被《富比士》雜誌選為全球前 10 名的公司，也在 2013 年被《Fast Company》雜誌評為全球第六名創新公司。

Travis Kalanick 表示，目前在台北提供服務的汽車數量約為 30 到 50 台車，全都是賓士黑頭車，Uber 並不經營車隊和司機， 而是和專業的租車公司合作。乘坐費用和車行分成，車行拿八成，Uber 拿兩成，至於司機的收入則要看他和車行之間的協議。Travis Kalanick 認為，Uber 打造的媒合平台，將能協助車行安排司機的閒置時間，將產能發揮最大效用。  

但也因為 Uber 訴求高級叫車服務，因此和一般計程車相比，Uber 收費較高，基本起跳車資為新台幣 126 元，之後時速高於 18 公里，每分鐘 30 元；時速低於 18 公里，每分鐘 16.5 元，最低車資為 230 元。若以路程估算，從東區至信義區約為新台幣 230 元，中正區至松山機場約新台幣 488 元。

為了吸引更多的司機在高需求的時間出來開車，該公司採用動態定價 (wiki，2014-04-04)

During holiday times such as Halloween, New Year's Eve, or severe inclement weather (such as heavy snowstorms), Uber increases its prices to "surge price" levels to reach an economic equilibrium by attracting more drivers. Uber has also used surge pricing during extremely inclement weather, such as a July 8, 2013 rainstorm that flooded many streets in the Greater Toronto Area. Customers receive notice when making a reservation that prices have increased. During New Year's Eve 2011, prices were as high as seven times normal rates, causing outrage in response. Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick responded that "because this is so new, it’s going to take some time for folks to accept it. There’s 70 years of conditioning around the fixed price of taxis." Several drivers have credited Uber for increasing their potential earnings by 30%. The drivers and riders rate each other after each trip, improving the experience for both the driver and the rider.

該公司的年營收約 2 億美元 (Joshua Brustein, Uber's Workforce Is Built to Do More Than Chauffeur, December 11, 2013)

Financial documents leaked to Valleywag suggest that the company brings in about $20.5 million each week. Assuming that held steady over an entire year, and Uber takes an average 20 percent commission, the company would be making about $210 million annually in revenue. (Make other assumptions to move the number up or down, if you wish.)

今周刊報導 (全球計程車行都怕的 App，2014-02-26)

Uber 設有評分機制，乘客可以幫司機評分（一到五顆星）。「以美國為例，只要是星等落在最後 三％ 到 五％ 的司機，就會被淘汰。」靠著每一位乘客的嚴格把關，確保 Uber 司機的服務品質。

Business Week 報導其背後需要的數學分析 (Brad Stone, Travis Kalanick on Leading Uber, a Car Service, August 09, 2012)

We have a team here that I call the math department. We have a computational neuroscientist out of Berkeley, a nuclear physicist out of Michigan, and a couple other folks. Their mission is to keep pickup times low and utilization high. They work on demand prediction, supply matching, supply positioning, dispatch algorithms, dynamic pricing, ETA prediction.

進一步的資訊可以參考 Uber Out-Maths Google on NYC ETAs 和 WHEN GOOGLE ETAS FAIL…。或者該公司的徵才內容 (選擇 Engineering 部門)。

關於其面臨的挑戰 (競爭，顧客的反應，現有計程車業的攻防等等)，可以參見 wiki 的內容。著眼於未來，如何擴大其營業範圍和利用無人駕駛，可以參考 Business Week 的報導 (Joshua Brustein, From Google, Uber Gets Money and Political Muscle, August 26, 2013)

Much has been made about Google’s $258 million investment in Uber, the car-service mobile app. Clearly this must have something to do with Google’s plans for autonomous vehicles.