Design Ride Hailing Service like Uber
Last Updated: December 19, 2025
What is a Ride-Hailing Service?
A ride-hailing service is a digital platform that enables users to request on-demand transportation by connecting them with nearby drivers through a mobile or web application.
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Uber, one of the most popular ride-sharing platforms, allows passengers to:
- Book rides in real time
- Match with available drivers based on location
- Track ride progress via GPS
- Make cashless payments
- Rate and review trips after completion
In this chapter, we will explore the low-level design of a simplified ride-sharing platform.
Let's start by clarifying the requirements:
1. Clarifying Requirements
Before starting the design, it's important to ask thoughtful questions to uncover hidden assumptions, clarify ambiguities, and define the system's scope more precisely.
Here is an example of how a conversation between the candidate and the interviewer might unfold:
Candidate: Should we allow riders to choose the type of ride (e.g., Sedan, SUV, Auto)?
Interviewer: Yes, riders should be able to select from available ride types.
Candidate: Should drivers be assigned automatically, or should they have the option to accept or reject a ride?
Interviewer: The system should notify nearby drivers. Drivers can accept or reject a ride.
Candidate: Are we considering payments and ratings as part of this design?
Interviewer: Assume payments are handled externally and are always successful. Lets skip ratings for this version.
After gathering the details, we can summarize the key system requirements.
1.1 Functional Requirements
- Allow riders to request a ride by specifying pickup and drop-off locations and preferred ride type.
- Notify drivers of incoming ride requests and allow them to accept or reject the request.
- Allow drivers to start and end a trip once accepted.
- Update and maintain trip status throughout its lifecycle. Notify riders of trip status changes.
- Maintain trip history for both riders and drivers
1.2 Non-Functional Requirements
- Modularity: The system should follow object-oriented principles with well-defined components.
- Extensibility: The design should be flexible enough to support future enhancements.
- Maintainability: Code should be clean, modular, and testable, making it easy to debug, refactor, and extend