The value of Uber no one ever realized, all because of a mobile app

Everyone thinks that Uber is just a novel idea (it is), but what they don’t realize is that Uber wouldn’t have been Uber without…a mobile app!

Ride sharing has been the wave of the future for quite a while now. But here’s the truth: it’s not all that revolutionary! It’s a simple idea: you contact someone, they pick you up. Taxis did that for ages, man. So what did make Uber so special? Off the cuff, we look at Uber and think, well, this cuts out the middle man, you don’t have to contact an agency and book a ride. You simply get online directly, and the rest is history.

However, the truth is Uber wouldn’t be Uber without a mobile app

Uber actually can’t work without the mobile app when you think about it. Go ahead. Try it. Try actually signing in online and see if you can get a ride. You can’t do it. The process has to be done online, on your phone or tablet. Eye-opening, right?

The thing about leveraging that mobile technology is that it made it loads easier to get a taxi ride than ever before. You’re not just calling up an agency. You’re signing into your account, that has payment info already set up, and it’s a direct link to any Uber driver in your area. Because it’s on your mobile device, that Uber driver knows automatically where you are, and where you want to go. You don’t need to communicate anything. If your Uber driver’s any good, that Uber driver already knows the best route to get you where you want to go. And payment’s already made via PayPal. Simple.

And all of this was accomplished simply by starting an Uber account, and downloading the app on your phone.

The same value actually applied to drivers, too. Having the mobile app made it possible for these Uber drivers to earn money much in the way regular taxi drivers did, only with more flexibility. Since the mobile app offers flexibility, drivers get it, too. It would be only a matter of time before taxi agencies see the writing on the wall and try to harness mobile technology just to reach their demographic and allow their employees that much more flexibility.

The thing is Uber doesn’t employ their drivers. It’s a flexible 1099 service. It’s possible doing it that way all because of the app. Without it, there’s all the red tape and documentation of a standard taxi agency employment scenario, and with that, the point of the value’s completely missed. Uber wanted to do something more streamlined.

The mobile app is what makes it possible

It’s no wonder businesses these days are trying to see how mobile technology can propel their economy to the next level. Smartphones are the way of life. Most consumers have those devices on them at all times. Why not reach them via that channel? Uber did. Other businesses have. Chances are good that you can, too, and open up a whole new stream of revenue, one you never thought possible.