Uber Mobile Application in Saudi Arabia

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Privacy and Security Issues
General Safety and Efficiency of Uber
Some People Do Not Welcome the Idea
How Uber Transforms the Lives of People in Saudi Arabia
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Uber is a mobile application that allows taxi drivers to connect with their clients and to some level, make the drivers their chauffeurs. The application is a product of Uber Technologies Company founded about five years ago in San Francisco, US. There was profound growth in the popularity of the application especially in the US before it gained popularity worldwide. For instance, the Saudi market is one of the most recent acquisitions in the Middle East following a launch in Riyadh (Reynolds 1). There has been a tremendous response from people towards the application, with some of them describing it as an opportunity of owning a car and a driver. Such a response is albeit in line with the consideration that the country has about half of its adults banned from driving (Roth 1). As such, the people who cannot afford the luxuries of private cars get the chance of moving to places with the same comfortable private car owners. Today, the application operates in about 43 countries and more than 150 cities globally (Owen 1). Therefore, the application is an opportunity for many people in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to gain access to cheap taxi services. In this work, there is an analysis of the application’s usage and its advantages and disadvantages.

Privacy and Security Issues

There have been considerable concerns about the privacy and security issues of using the Uber application. In this case, it is noteworthy that the security matters relate to the driver and their clients while the privacy issues concern the data usage on the application. In consideration of the levels of security, it is needful to note that the developers of the application designed a system that would enable proper care of the clients. For instance, all drivers undergo a stringent screening process, which includes verification of their ages. In line with such a factor, the company recommends that all the drivers must be at least 21 years and have an additional clean criminal record (Cook 1). The latter issue requires that the police clear aspiring drivers before they get licenses. Another considerable factor is the need that the drivers to have an excellent driving record, which is a record from the relevant bodies in the Kingdom, and their vehicles must not be older than 2005 (Jennings-Edquist 1). All drivers that pass the preliminary stages undergo training on the usage of the application as well as customer service delivery efficiencies. The users of the application have a chance of viewing their driver’s picture and profile once they accept their job offers. The profile is based on a rating system for both the customers and the drivers. The biggest criticism that the software faces is its inability to protect private data from customers. The application keeps the records of the passengers’ destinations and schedules, which could pose a potential risk of data trafficking, as well as physical safety.

General Safety and Efficiency of Uber

Using the application is one of the most efficient methods that customers have to get drivers and travel between destinations. For example, the application competes with other taxi services in the country found practical all over the cities. For such a reason, the application has features that make it outstanding to the customers such as the allowance of sending a link for a live map of their destination to anyone they wish. In doing so, the application creates a feeling that the customers have all reasons to feel safe. The usage of the software allows the customers and the drivers to interact based on customer choice, which implies that clients will always have a driver at their disposal (Trenwith 1). The customers only need to log on to the application and find their destinations. They also have the choice of choosing the fare rates according to the levels of cars they wish to use. Using the software, therefore, give the customers a real-time experience with their drivers. However, the application has the problem of delayed arrivals in comparison to the white taxi cabs in the country. The delay for as many as 10 minutes during the off pick times and 20 minutes in the peak times. Therefore, such a constraint hinders the rather high efficiency of the application in fetching drivers for their clients.

Some People Do Not Welcome the Idea

As much as the use of the application provides an efficient chance to improve the state of taxi transport in the Kingdom, some do not welcome the idea (Al-Erian 1). Such individuals have several reasons for their stance, such as the fact that they feel that the application makes them vulnerable to insecurity because of the possibilities of data trafficking. The fact that the application leaves personal data of the users for public viewing scares people who are sensitive to cybercrime. Some other drivers may not welcome the idea because the company does not have its drivers, which means that drivers require their cars. Therefore, there are those with a feeling that the company should have made efforts to buy cars and hire drivers (Owen 1). Other people, especially the customers do not welcome the idea of Uber Taxi because of the delays experienced during times when they have to make urgent journeys. The rest of the people in the taxi industry who do not use the application have a feeling that the company takes away their customers, which is the reason for protests against its usage.

How Uber Transforms the Lives of People in Saudi Arabia

There are many ways that the application changes the lives of people in Saudi Arabia. Most of the transformations in the country that relate to the use of the application indicate the usefulness of technology in the performance of businesses. The first significant way is clinging to the status quo. For this case, the application gives the users a chance of riding with their preferred drivers at their favorite pick-up places (Bremner 1). Therefore, there is the generation of a feeling that the users of such services belong to the high social class. It also impacts the nature of business in the country by demonstrating that technology can add value to businesses (Kalra & Sanjeev 1). Another implication is the idea that the country has started embracing the use of technology as a method of opening up the economy to the outside world (Euronews 1). Such occurrences necessitate the use of modern technologies by industries in the Kingdom.

Conclusion

This wok has therefore analyzed the use of Uber mobile application in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The application is a development of the Uber Technologies Company in San Francesco in the US allowing cab drivers to connect with their potential customers over the internet and arrange for travels. The application provides one of the safest platforms for customers in Saudi Arabia to order taxis through the screening process that drivers undergo before they qualify to work for the company. However, the biggest concern is that the application exposes its users to the danger of data trafficking and cybercrime. Most people welcome the idea, but some refuse it because of the inconveniences caused by arrival times and the security challenges. Therefore, the primary advantage of the application is that it gives the users a chance of interacting and strike deals, which enables the customers to ride with their preferred chauffeurs. However, the use of the application faces the criticism of exposing the personal data of the users to potentially wrong people.

Works Cited

Al-Erian, Mohamed. Column: Creative Self-disruption. The Financial Express. Financialexpress.com, 2015. Web.

Bremner, Caroline. Uber and Out? What Might the Future Hold for the Controversial Car-Sharing App? Euromonitor International. 2015. Web.

Cook, James. Despite The Scary Rape Headlines, Uber Is Probably Still The Safest Way To Order A Taxi. Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 2014. Web.

Euronews. Taxi Battle: Traditional Cabbies Take on Car-sharing Service Uber. RSS. Euronews, 2014. Web.

Jennings-Edquist, Grace. Explain to Me: “What Is Uber and Is It Actually Safe to Use?” Mamamia RSS. Mamamia RSS, 2014. Web.

Kalra, Aditya, and Sanjeev, Miglani. Uber Restarts Service in Delhi; Govt Says Firm Still Banned. 2015. Web.

Owen, Richard. How Uber Has Thrown Traditional Taxi Services Under the Bus. The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 2014. Web.

Reynolds, Molly. Why Every Business Model May Soon Look Like Uber’s. Inc.com. Inc.com, 2015. Web.

Roth, Selma. Another taxi smartphone app takes over the streets of Saudi. SaudiGazette. SaudiGazette, 2014. Web.

Trenwith, Courtney. Qatar Fund Buys Stake in Taxi App Uber – Report. Arabian Business. Arabian Business.com, 2014. Web.

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