A century ago, the mention of the terms ‘artificial’ and ‘intelligence’ would have been considered an oxymoron. However, today, it is far from the attribute of fiction and it has become a tangible reality now!
You can say artificial intelligence is creating constructive impacts in almost every field. It has made the process of screening easier and efficient, streamlining HR operations. In the field of medicine, predictive analysis has gone a long way in identifying epidemics and diseases from minor symptoms. Artificial intelligence is driving commercial aircraft through autopilot.
Without even us recognizing, artificial intelligence has become a part of our life. One such manifestation of artificial intelligence that we take for granted in our life these days is its application in the ride-hailing industry.
A Bit About Ride-Hailing
When we think about taking out our mobile and opening an app if we think about booking a taxi, ride-hailing does not need any introduction anymore! Simply put, the ride-hailing is the business of transporting people from one place to another. The only difference is that ride-hailing services put the customer first. The customer can command where they need to be picked up from and where they would need to be dropped.
Ride-hailing is steadily growing and it is expected to be worth over $218 billion by 2030. The CAGR between 2019 and 2030 Is expected to be at a staggering 20%. The Asia Pacific region is projected to lead the market share because of the population. The entry of electric vehicles and the universal acceptance of payment instruments will serve as fillips for the growth of ride-hailing in the near future.
Artificial Intelligence in Ride-Hailing
We have already seen glimpses of AI enhance the efficiency and functionality of the cab industry. The different facets of AI like machine learning, predictive analysis, and deep learning are bound to make the service better in every possible way. It is only through artificial intelligence that the existing services like Uber determine the price of your ride. Ever wondered why a driver gets a trip towards their home during the close of the days? It is all because of AI in Play! It is the same wizardry that sends you promotional messages just in time before the usual cab booking slot for you! Launching a taxi app with algorithms and AI can help in better ride scheduling. A similar algorithm is deployed in the Uber clone solution and the entrepreneurs can easily develop an AI-powered taxi app with it.
The Future of AI in Taxi Services
Analyzing Sentiments – spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel have been enough to gain intelligence from structured numeric data. However, it has always been difficult to handle non-numeric and scattered data, like sentiments.
Artificial intelligence gives you a deep insight into what is being discussed about your brand and on what not being discussed. AI scans user-generated information about your brand and your app is been discussed.
This intelligence can be extremely useful in shipping your next move for marketing and for making enhancements to your product and services.
Personalized experience – it is the magnitude of personalization that segregates the great from the mediocre. Every little bit of data like their choice of vehicle, the time of booking, their place of origin, the place of drop and the pattern of their travel provides useful information to personalize your communication and Services.
This can help you design special offers for them when they are expected to be the most active. Instead of counting on manual scrubbing, you can leave the task of creating these promotions to AI.
Smart predictions – we have all done the exercise of extrapolating graph during school. Artificial intelligence helps you achieve this extrapolation with data. AI enables business owners to make informed decisions that help strategize the demand for their services in the future. For example, it is quite likely that during a festive season, there is a high demand for cabs in places like the airport and the bus terminus.
Businesses can make more cabs available in that area, so they can benefit from the travellers who will be looking for a cab service as soon as they step out of the bus or the flight.
Route Optimisation – we have seen a glimpse of this technique when the driver gets a ride back home in a way that benefits them. However, it does not stop there. Some drivers are known to be well-versed in certain routes, which is made evident by the comments and ratings. If need be, the AI engine can assign the drivers to this particular route. This will help in the passenger getting a better experience and the driver being in their zone of comfort.
In addition to this, artificial intelligence also sources data from drivers who have quite a lot of experience in driving on a particular route. The route is analyzed with respect to time and traffic. This data helps in determining the best route for the drivers at any given time during the day. For example, places with a high concentration of offices might not experience a lot of traffic during mid-morning and mid-afternoon. However, it is bound to be quite the contrary during peak hours. Always build apps that are in trend, so that you don’t have to fail in launching your app.
Artificial Intelligence can take these factors into consideration in providing the best route for the drivers.
A Living Case Study
Toyota, JapanTaxi, KDDI Corporation, and Accenture teamed up together to form a 4-way collaboration aptly named as the Quadrilateral Collaboration in Japan. The primary objective of this collaboration was to study the possibilities of integrating AI in the taxi business.
This venture has resulted in the creation of a taxi dispatch system that predicts the demand for taxi services. Using a combination of service logs and demographic predictions, the system has achieved an astounding 94.1% accuracy in predictions.
Conclusion It is quite evident that AI is inevitable for taxi businesses. In the future, they are bound to become an integral part of ride-hailing services. It is not only important but rather mandatory that your Uber clone incorporates elements of AI in its functionalities.
