North South University

Final Research Assignment

The prospect of Ride Sharing Apps in Bangladesh
Semester: Summer
Course: Eng 105
Section: 34

Submitted to:

Dr. Shakila Nur [SNU]

Department of English & Modern Languages, North South University.

Submitted By:
Mostofa Hasan Nehal
2012300630

Date of Submission: 10 September 2021

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Acknowledgement
First of all, I would like to thank my respected faculty member Dr. Shakila Nur, Assistant
Professor, Department of English and Modem Languages, North South University for giving me
this amazing opportunity to work on such an interesting topic like the prospect of ride sharing
apps in Bangladesh by working on such amazing topic, I have been able to acquire a great amount
of knowledge regarding ride sharing apps in Bangladesh that was previously unknown to me. I
would also like to thank her for being so helpful from the very beginning to the end.

And I would like to thank all of the interview participants who agreed for interview and all
of the respondents who filled out the survey I would like to thank all of them for taking some
precious time out of their schedule and assisting me in my research And I am really grateful for
their invaluable help because without their help, completing this research successfully would not
have been possible. It is only with their participation that I have been able to successfully
conclude the research. This research work in this course increased my self-confidence in writing,
presentation, etc. And my English skills have gotten better than before. I worked according to her
advice and that made me knowledgeable. And also I am glad to see her teaching style.

Mostofa Hasan Nehal

2012300630
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Declaration of originality
I, with this, declare that the research presented here is original work and has not been
submitted to any other platform. No part of this work has been emulated from any other
publications except statements that were required for the paper to justify my revelations.
certify that all intellectual content of this study is a result of my work, and all the assistance
obtained is recognized while preparing this paper and its sources.

Mostofa Hasan Nehal

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Abstract

The current research sought to investigate the prospect of ride sharing apps in Bangladesh.
One of the key indicators for economic development is the advancement of transportation and
communication systems and ride-sharing is one of them in developing countries like Bangladesh.
So, the online-based service industries such as app-based ride-sharing reduces the amount of
effort needed, time, and cost of mobility from one place to another. Research data has been
collected through a survey questionnaire from a sample of 100 respondents and to fulfill
that aim the research was conducted with a mixed method research paradigm by implementing
both qualitative and quantitative approach In the quantitative part, a total of 5 participants were
interviewed through video call Statistical analysis was used to analyze the quantitative data and
thematic analysis was utilized to analyze the qualitative data. Findings show that ride-sharing
services are emerging rapidly in Bangladesh as an alternative to traditional transportation
because people prefer flexibility, convenience, time savings, and ease of use. The young
generation is the top user of this service as they are well equipped with the technologies
required for this gig economy. Currently ride sharing companies hold a big market share
because of their first mover advantage and availability in both car and motorbike segments.
Further growth of this service is expected if major problems like concern over safety and security
can be overcome. Thus, this study would be useful for companies understanding users’
perception and improving their service quality.
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Table of Contents

Contents Pages
Acknowledgment…………………………………………………………………….i
Declaration of Originality……………………………………………………………ii
Abstract………………………………………………………………………………iii
1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………01
2. Literature Review……...…………………………………………………………02
3. Methodology………………………………………………………………………02
3.1. Research Questions………………………………………………………………02
3.2. Data collection method…………………………………………………………..03
3.3. Participants……………………………………………………………………….03
3.4. Data analysis……………………………………………………………………..04
4. Findings……………………………………………………………………………04
4.1. Quantitative part………………………………………………………………….05
4.2. Qualitative Part……………………………………………………………….......15
4.2.1 Variation in choice………………………....………………………………..15
4.2.2 Area selection for ride service……………………………………………....16
4.2.3Make more money through ride sharing……………………………………..16
4.2.4Get feedback from passengers……………………………………………….16
5. Discussion on Findings……………………………………………………………17
6.Conclusion & Recommendation……………….…………………...……………..18
References…………………………………………………….………………………19
Appendices………………………………………………………..…………………..20
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Introduction:
Ride sharing is a system that usually privately owned drivers want to operate and in
exchange for a certain amount of money they want to provide ride services to passengers. This
whole process is controlled by a ride sharing company's app. There are several ride sharing
companies in Bangladesh now. Uber, Pathao, Obhai etc are among them. One of the key indicators
for economic development is the advancement of transportation and communication systems and
ride-sharing is one of them in developing countries like Bangladesh. So, the online-based service
industries such as app-based ride-sharing reduces the amount of effort needed, time, and cost of
mobility from one place to another.

From a business perspective, this service can make more opportunities in terms of market
share and social benefits. In addition, ride-sharing companies benefit from new levels of service
use and a new field of profit making. In addition, users also benefit from ride sharing services as a
possible solution to various problems in the traditional transport sector, such as traffic relief,
improved travel options (DMEO, 2009).

In recent times various ride sharing businesses have paved the way for exploring
opportunities and benefits based on internet and online marketing. In last five years, the number of
internet users has tripled. In 2013, Internet users in Bangladesh were only .5.5%. However, in 2017,
this increase reached 18.7% of the total population. The field of public transport is very fragile
where people suffer a lot (Andalib, Haq, and Ahmed, 2007) but with the advancement of modernity
the current scenario has changed to transport technology. Ride-sharing companies play a positive
role in creating huge popularity among the younger generation and middle-aged people who change
the transport situation in Bangladesh. It is used but the remaining 9 % is unused or idle. Therefore,
this scenario can be changed with the use of ride sharing business.
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Literature overview:

Transportation and communication systems have changed dramatically throughout the

universe. Through the introduction and practice of the concept of Global Village, the region is
transforming the world into a virtually inaccessible region in the shortest possible time. Growing
Wave Globally Communication systems and technologies have started flowing freely even in
developing countries like Bangladesh. Advanced technology and optimal use of the Internet are
mutually acceptable to each other. With rapid industrialization and infrastructural development,
advanced vehicles with transportation and communication, modern technologies like mobile
communication, the system has radically changed the network, real-time response, standard
bandwidth of internet, web 2.0 technology and services, etc. The e-commerce market is estimated
to be around -1 110-115 million (about 900 crore per year) in 2017 (Bangladesh Association of
Software and Information Services, 2018). In addition, in the Global ICT Development Index,
Bangladesh ranks 147th out of 166 countries in the world (Debnath, O. Mahmud, 200). Personal
vehicles, maintenance, traffic congestion and costs associated with a lot of benefits such as
reduction. Moreover, it is effective in creating new employment, especially on a part-time basis
for students and college-going people (Agatz, et al. 2012).

3. Methodology
In this part, the researcher described the methodology that was used to successfully
conduct the research. The researcher also shed light on the research questions, methods that were
implemented to collect data, number of respondents who filled out the survey questionnaire,
interviews and methods of analysis that were utilized to analyze all of the collected data.

3.1. Research Questions

The research was primarily guided by the following 3 research questions:

RQ1: Are divers and passengers ready to embrace app based ride sharing?
RQ2: What kind of ride-sharing service do customers desire?
RQ3: Is it possible to keep up the ride-sharing business in Bangladesh?
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3.2. Data collection method

During the data collection procedures, we followed two steps. At first, we conducted a
questionnaire survey on the known contacts of the researcher on social media platforms.
Secondly, we interviewed several participants following purposive sampling. As the world is still
in a pandemic situation, it isn't easy to conduct face-to-face interviews with the participants. As a
result, some semi-structured questions had been used to interview through video conferencing
sites on the agreed schedules provided by the participants. We think that video conferencing was
an effective way to conduct interviews in the pandemic.

3.3.Participants

Instrument Context Research Sample No of

Participants

Survey Questionnaire Opinions on the prospect of Total Respondents 100

ride sharing apps in Bangladesh Male Participants 59
Female Participants 41
Qualitative Part Experience with this service Total Interviews 05
Male Participants 03
Female Participants 02
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3.4. Data analysis

The topic of my research is the prospect of ride sharing apps in Bangladesh. For the data
analysis part, I have managed to use both qualitative and quantitative methods. Here, for the
quantitative data analysis, the participants filled up the survey and helped to inform their
perception about ride sharing service. Again, in qualitative data analysis, I have taken the
interview of participants as it was more convenient to them than completing the survey. For the
quantitative data analysis, the expected number of responses was 120, and so far, I managed to
gather 100 responses, and therefore the total number is n =100. For the qualitative part, the
number of total participants for the interview was 5 respectively. While making the google form
for the survey, all the questions were mandatory to complete the study, and therefore the total
number of participants in every question is 100. The frequency number does vary because
different people have chosen other answers. Below, the percentage with description is shown for
the quantitative part of data analysis for every question.

4. Findings

In the survey questionnaire and during the interviews, the researcher asked the survey
respondents and interviewees questions regarding the prospect of ride sharing apps in Bangladesh
they use in their daily life to find out what kind of experience they are having, what kind of
perception they have of the service they use and what kind of opinions they have on these
systems. To see if the users find these systems as being up to standard. Even though in the
research process, two different data collection methods were implemented but still the results
were invariably more or less the same.
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4.1. Quantitative part

There were about 17 questions related with this survey. The questions were divided into
two parts. The first part is the demographic information part and the second is the research
question part. Here, let’s analyze the data according to those different parts.

Demographic information:

1. This section consists of the first seven questions after the participants entered
their names.The first demographic question was about the gender of the
participants.In this study we received 100 responses and among them 59% were
male and 41% were female. So, the majority of the respondents were male.

2.
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On the second question I inquired about the age group that the participants belonged
to. Here, 89 respondents were from the middle-aged group which was 20-29 years old. 10
individuals belonged to the age group 30 and above, and 1 respondent belonged to 15-19
age group.

3.

This question was about the study level of the participants. As per the expectation,
majority of them were university students. 88% were university students here. The second
largest group who took part in this study were the college students which was 5%.Then 4%
was school and the left 3% was other.
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4.

34 participants were from the capital of the country Dhaka. One of the second respondents
was from port city Chottogram. Jashore was also a good number of participants.
Research questions: Here, we studied the questions that are directly aligned with our research.

5.

The main aim of this statement was unemployment is eliminated through ride sharing
app. Here, 49% participants were somewhat agree and second highest was strongly agree
which participants were 40%. A big number of participants (9%) took a neutral stand on the
claim. And a few participants disagreed.
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6.

The main aim of this statement was that amateur drivers share rides. Here, 35%
somewhat agreed, 33% neutral, 25% strongly agreed and the left two sectors strongly
disagree and somewhat disagree got 3% and 4% participants. So this statement had a
major amount of agreed sides.
7.

The main point of this statement was that the time and hassle of the passengers is
alleviated. The number of participants were almost equal in the sector of somewhat
agree(41%) and strongly agree(42%). And 15% participants from neutral. Very few amount
were strongly disagreed(2%). But the majority of participants agreed.
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8.

The main aim of this statement was that a driver earns a lot of money through ride
sharing. Here, 35% participants responded neutral, 33% somewhat agree, 19% strongly
agree. Actually this statement was so controversial because earning money through ride
sharing depends on the needs of the driver. On the other hand, 9% participants strongly
disagreed and 4% somewhat disagreed.

9.

The main point of this statement was that self-employment is created. 61%
participants strongly agreed with that and 29% somewhat agreed. In Bangladesh, truly
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ride sharing services have helped to create self-employment. 8% participants responded

neutral and very few participants strongly disagreed and somewhat disagree.
10.

The main point of this statement was that increased ride sharing causes traffic jam.
30% participants strongly agreed with that and 31% somewhat agreed. 23% neutral
participants and left two sectors 11% strongly disagreed and 5% somewhat disagreed.
Majority responded came from agreed sectors.

11.

The main aim of this statement was that passengers benefit from using the app. Huge
number of participants strongly agreed (66%). 22% somewhat agreed and 10% neutral.So
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easily the chart showed that the passengers really benefited from this app.
12.

The main aim of this statement was that sometimes drivers harass passengers. Here,
47%,28%, and 18% participants responded in strongly agree, somewhat agree and neutral.
So we can say that drivers harass passengers.On the other side, 5% participants strongly
disagreed but the majority participants strongly agreed with that.

13.

The main aim of this statement was that in the app,extra fares are collected from the
passengers than the specified fares. Here the result of this chart showed that a major amount
of people support this. 32% participants somewhat agreed, 25% strongly agreed and 25%
neutral. But total 18% participants strongly disagreed and somewhat disagreed with that.
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14.

The main point of this statement was that Ride-sharing companies do not protect
passenger’s privacy. Here 31% responded neutral and second highest 27% somewhat
agreed. 16% were strongly agree, 15% strongly agree and 11% somewhat disagree.

15

The main point of this statement was that People are losing interest in buying private
vehicles for ride sharing services. Here 40% participants responded in neutral, 21%
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somewhat agreed, 15% strongly agreed, 17% strongly disagreed and 7% somewhat
disagreed. Actually the total result was neutral.
16.

The question of this statement was “Have you ever taken service from a ride sharing
app?” Here 89% participants responded yes which is a huge amount. So ride sharing
services have become popular in Bangladesh. But 7% participants responded no.The main
reason for responding no because of the ride sharing service is not available all over
Bangladesh.

17.

The question of this statement was ``Have you ever faced any problem using this
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service?”. Here, 55% participants responded no that was a positive result for ride sharing
service. 30% participants responded yes that was normal case and 15% participants
responded maybe.
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4.2. Qualitative Part

For this qualitative part I conducted online interviews and I managed to interview 5 people
who were all university students. And during the interview I asked them 4 semi structured open
ended questions regarding the prospect of ride sharing apps service in Bangladesh. During the
interviews, the participants expressed their true opinion on different aspects of the prospect of
Ride Sharing Apps in Bangladesh they use and also shared their experience. Where they
expressed their satisfaction and dissatisfaction with these service. And based on all of their
researcher has managed to develop 4 distinctive themes on the consumer’s perspective of ride
sharing apps in Bangladesh. And all of these themes will be discussed one by one the following
subsections.

Variation in Area selection for

choice ride service

Make more money

Get feedback from
through ride
passengers
sharing

4.2.1 Variation in choice

I asked about which vehicle they would choose for ride sharing among car and bike, all the
interviewees had different answers. ST1.1, ST1.2, ST1.4 preferred bike while ST1.3 and ST1.5
preferred car.
“As a student I would choose a bike for ride sharing. Since I have a bike, I can earn my
pocket money by sharing rides”- ST1.2
The main reason of majority of the interviewees preferred bike is students. Generally a
student cannot afford a car so they preferred bike. And a bike can be easily moved and its
maintenance cost is cheap than a car.
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4.2.2 Area selection for ride service

From their responses to the questions, most of the interviewees preferred Dhaka city for
ride sharing. Here ST2.1, ST2.3, ST2.4 preferred Dhaka city. Dhaka is a very capital and big city
in Bangladesh. It has large population so the interviewees thought that it is the best area for ride
sharing.
“I will share the ride in Dhaka city because Dhaka is the capital city and a large
population exists in this area so its environment will help me to share my ride conveniently.”
ST2.3

4.2.3Make more money through ride sharing

The interviewees stated that they can earn more money through ride sharing. Here all
interviewees were student and every student need pocket money. So they selected ride sharing
option to earn extra money. ST3.1, ST3.2, ST3.3, ST3.5 agreed that by ride sharing they can earn
more money but only ST3.4 disagreed that. A student who concern about his study cannot do this
job but this number is very few.
“Yes. If I share my ride in my leisure time then I can make more money.”ST3.2

4.2.4Get feedback from passengers

3 of the 4 interviewees thought that giving a good service to the passengers helps to get
feedback. And one interviewee thought that requesting to the passengers helps to get feedback.
But majority is good service to the passengers. A driver is couraged by positive feedback.
“After giving the service I will recommend my passenger to give me feedback by using the
ride sharing app”ST4.1
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5. Discussion on Findings
The respondent group consists of 59% male and 41% female. This representation of both
genders is essential in the study of ride-sharing service app in Bangladesh because, in recent
times, both men and women of a young age are using this service frequently. Moreover, the
majority of the respondents are students. The occupation of the respondents also matched with the
other demographic elements of the respondents. The student group is the primary user of ride-
sharing services in Bangladesh as they are enabled with the resources required in this service and
actively seek low-cost transportation.
Moreover, the age distribution of the respondents also shows a similar trend. Around 89% of
the total respondents belong to the age group of 20-29 years, followed by 10% of the respondents
in the age group of 15-19 years and 1% of respondents aged above 30 years. Thus, this age
distribution implies the suitability of ride-sharing services for the young generation. The young
people aged between 15 to 30 years usually have a smartphone with internet connection required
for ride-sharing service and actively seek quick transportation with the lowest possible cost. On
the contrary, people aged more than 35 years are either well off to afford their ride or not
technologically advanced, which is the reason for their minimum presence in the respondent
group.
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6. Conclusion & Recommendation

Ride-sharing services have unique possibilities and challenges from Bangladesh's
perspective. Appropriate initiatives should be taken from the perspective of executives as well as
law enforcement agencies to overcome challenges and threats and leverage the possibilities and
opportunities so that these services can be successfully extended to other cities. Since it is an
investigative study in this field, more final research may be started in the future. Further studies
can be started to determine consumer attitudes towards ride-sharing services, measure consumer
satisfaction with ride-sharing services, and compare ride-sharing services with traditional
transportation methods. Future studies could also be done to evaluate this gig economy in terms
of supply - how service providers see this economy as a profession. In addition, similar studies
could be initiated in other potential service sectors of the economy.
The following is a list of recommendations that the researcher thinks would be visible and
helpful to the prospect of ride sharing apps in Bangladesh.
● To improve the quality and service of ride-sharing organizations, the government can take
appropriate initiatives to play an important role.
● Progress in obtaining licenses and route permits.
● The company needs to strengthen the quality of apps and servers by expanding and
focusing on other cities in the shortest possible time.
● Easy payment option should be created.
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References
Debnath, N. C., & Mahmud, A. A. (2007). The Environment of E-commerce in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Service (2018). IT and its industry
Overview.[online]Available at:
https://basis.org.bd/publication/630704205a2084de27be4d5920540edf.pdf.
Agatz, N., Erera, A. L., Savelsbergh, M. W., & Wang, X. (2011). Dynamic ride-sharing:
A simulation study in metro Atlanta. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,17,532-
550.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.04.530

Andaleeb, S. S., Haq, M., & Ahmed, R. I. (2007). Reforming intercity bus transportation in a
developing country: A passenger-driven model. Journal of Public Transportation, 10(1),
1-26.https://doi.org/10.5038/2375-0901.10.1.1

Giampapa, et, al. (2017). Accessible Transportation Technologies Research Initiative (ATTRI).

Giannopoulos, G. A. (2004). The application of information and communication.

European journal of operational research, 152(2), 302-320.

Hasan, M., & Huda, M. N. (2013). E-commerce challenges, solutions and effectiveness
perspective
Bangladesh.International Journal of Computer Applications, 70(9).
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Appendices
Appendix A: Survey Questions
1.Unemployment is eliminated through ride sharing apps.
2. Amateur drivers share rides.
3.The time and hassle of the passengers is alleviated.
4.A driver earns a lot of money through ride sharing.
5.Self-employment is created.
6. Increased ride sharing causes traffic jams.
7.Passengers benefit from using the app.
8. Sometimes drivers harass passengers.
9.In the app, extra fares are collected from the passengers from the specified fares.
10. Ride-sharing companies do not protect passengers' privacy.
11. People are losing interest in buying private vehicles for ride sharing services.
12. Ride-sharing companies deprive drivers of many benefits.
13. Have you ever taken service from a ride sharing app?
14. Have you ever faced any problem using this service ?

Appendix B: Interview Questions

1.Which vehicle would you choose for ride sharing? Car or bike and why?
2.In which area will you share the ride and why?
3.Do you think you can make more money through ride sharing?
4.How do you get good feedback from a passenger?