Q: What is Uber’s strategy to compete for market share?
Uber’s technology aims to provide the safest, most reliable and affordable ride on the road at the click of a button. Technology also enables a very efficient marketplace -- one where riders get picked up in as little as 5 minutes and where drivers spend less time idle and more time earning money by helping people get around their city. In fact, drivers continue to make more money, since they're able to do more trips every hour via the Uber platform. By facilitating more trips per hour, Uber’s technology enables us to offer the most affordable rides on the road - up to 20% cheaper than a taxi. What’s more, drivers on the Uber platform make more money, and provide consumers with a safer, more reliable and higher quality transportation option.
Q: How does Uber attract or persuade riders to use Uber?
Once people have experienced the comfort of Uber and the great value we provide, they usually become regular customers as they realize that Uber is great for riders in Bangkok. So word of mouth is a big part of our popularity and then people try the service for themselves and love it. Having that first experience with Uber is really important. And once people use it, they integrate into their regular transport. They may still use other forms of city transport. People are also attracted to the sharing economy because sharing is obviously beneficial but also because the sharing economy delivers better value for people.
Uber brings a high level of accountability and safety to the transportation experience for the first time. When you use Uber’s technology, not only are you always connected with a fully licensed driver, but you know exactly how far away your car is, who is coming to pick you up and the driver’s aggregated rating over all the trips he/she has completed. Uber’s app also includes a safety feature called 'Share my ETA', where a rider can share her real-time location and car details with a friend or family member so that loved ones can ensure that the rider gets to her destination safely.
Uber is also making the entire transport experience completely cashless and hassle-free. Once a consumer downloads the Uber app onto his/her mobile phone and registers for the Uber service, every trip requested and completed via the Uber app is automatically charged directly to the rider’s credit card on file. Payment is automatic and seamless. That means riders don’t need to carry the right amount of cash or worry about whether the credit card machine in a taxi is working or not. Upon reaching her destination, a rider simply gets out of the car and goes on her way. A receipt with complete details of the trip will be emailed to the rider within a few minutes. The experience is nothing short of magical.
Q: How does Uber create transportation network?
What Uber creates is a technology platform that connects riders and drivers and makes transport in Bangkok more efficient. And we are constantly improving this technology platform to give riders and partner-drivers a better experience. We will have new product offerings that will make an even greater impact on reducing congestion and improving traffic flow in Bangkok.
It’s also important that we emphasize the steps we take to give Uber riders the best possible experience. We have stringent safety standards, we conduct thorough criminal background checks for all partner-drivers, we have rigorous standards for vehicle quality, and all riders have the benefit of fully insured rides with comprehensive insurance.
Q: Targets for this year including revenue, number of cars and usage/request by consumer and corporate customers?
We have a range of targets for our business, some we can disclose and some we cannot.
We would like to reduce the amount of time it takes for a rider to get a car. Today it is about 5 minutes. We aim to reduce this number as much as possible. Our goal is to make transportation as reliable as running water for everyone, anywhere and anytime.
We can also share that 80% of our riders are locals and 20% are tourists. We would like to see even greater numbers of local people to use Uber.
We have a number of partner-drivers that earn more than 100,000 THB per month and some even earn more than 130,000 THB per month. We would like to see more partner-drivers making this level of income.
The most used road Sukhumvit from National Stadium to Ekamai and the areas of highest demand for Uber are Ratchaprasong, Sathorn, Sukhumvit. We do not envision this changing significantly over the next year, but we do expect the volume to grow substantially.
We are also seeking to grow our numbers of partner drivers. This is a priority for us – and we encourage people to consider this as a way to earn extra income – and live a more efficient lifestyle.