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How COVID-19 has changed ride-hailing companies like Uber, and what is the future of this sector?

The global pandemic has sent out a panic call for numerous things. People have started to realize the pollution levels they have been living in, how deprived they were of economic and social rights, and inequalities in modern society. The pandemic has imposed its effect on numerous sectors. Travel and tourism are some of the worst affected sectors. Taxi companies have also reported a significant decline in their user engagement and revenue since most people remained indoors to protect themselves.

When the governments started to ease the lockdown restrictions, people still hesitated to travel in cabs, and so did drivers. As a result of this, taxi service providers had to offer sanitizers to the drivers and passengers. They also took steps to ensure that the cabs get sanitized regularly to keep it free from pathogens. Experts also considered the idea of integrating AI to improve their services.

The idea of integrating AI:

Marcus, the founder of Robust AI, spoke at the conference of Intelligent Health AI recently. He said that people had missed decades of opportunities to build more sophisticated AI-based applications. Marcus also criticized that integrating AI in apps in the current market does not help the stakeholders in a meaningful way, and no one hasn’t explored its complete potential. He also suggested adding robots in place of humans to keep them out of dangerous situations. It can also be used in on-demand service apps to deliver packages, operate on sophisticated projects in the health sectors, and more. AI has already made its entry to our homes in video games, vacuum cleaners, and smart devices.

Marcus also added that data scientists focus on optimizing the deep learning of the current AI systems. It might be the working technique and dominate the industry, but it is getting too much attention. Other elements in the AI get overlooked because of this strategy. 

What is deep learning:

Deep learning is a branch of AI that mimics the human brain’s working method. The artificial neural network inside the AI is responsible for its acts. It will be trained to learn patterns, recognize things, identify media, etc. Some experts predict that the current cab drivers may be entirely replaced by auto-driving cabs in the near future. In that event, these improvements in AI will help it to take over the wheel. It will be able to read road signs, identify pedestrians, and much more. A slight misconception by the AI system might cause significant accidents on the road, and so the experts must be cautious of the input data sent to it.  

Opportunities for new startups:

At the time of writing this article, COVID-19 is still dominating the streets, and people should stay indoors for the best. However, it won’t take much time for ride-hailing apps to get back on track. It will perform stronger than before, in terms of user engagement and revenue. As people are gradually stepping out of their houses, most of them will not prefer to take a bus or public commute, and cabs will be their only mode of transportation to stay safe. This mindset could prove an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs to launch their apps. They can use this period to attract users and to get loyal customers.

By ensuring high COVID-19 safety standards, exciting offers, and effective marketing strategies, entrepreneurs can quickly establish their brand in the market and get to the top tier in no time. The on-demand service app business is unlike traditional companies in which customers are the king. In contradiction to it, the entrepreneurs have to take steps to ensure that every stakeholder in the company is satisfied. There are second thoughts about the fact that the pandemic has made a severe hit on the ride-hailing industry. But it is an essential service that will bounce back stronger than before. The current situation shows positive signs for new startups to enter the market and will survive in the long term if they adhere to the strategies mentioned above in this article.

What’s more to come for Uber:

Uber being a high profile player in the market, will not be entirely responsible for bringing a change but will play a significant role in it. Several cities are planning to introduce zero-emission zones by the end of this decade. This move will contribute to more electric vehicles on the road and construction of cycle only corridors. Uber is in talks with various companies worldwide to collaborate with them for installing charging points/booths for the cabs at significant locations. The electric fleet of cars will be the next big thing for Uber, and it is the reality in a few years.

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