4.
Design a Ride-Sharing System like Uber or Lyft
1. Requirements
Functional Requirements
● Riders can request a ride.
● Drivers can accept or decline ride requests.
● Riders and drivers should see each other’s real-time location.
● Fare estimation and payment processing.
● Trip history for both riders and drivers.
● Rating and feedback system.
Non-Functional Requirements
● Low latency for ride-matching.
● High availability and scalability.
● Real-time updates on driver location.
● Data consistency and fault tolerance.
2. High-Level Design
We need the following components:
. API Gateway – Handles client requests.
. User Service – Manages user profiles for both riders and drivers.
. Ride Matching Service – Finds the nearest available driver.
. Location Tracking Service – Tracks real-time GPS locations.
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. Pricing Service – Calculates ride fare dynamically.
. Payment Service – Handles transactions.
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. Notification Service – Sends updates via push notifications or SMS.
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. Database (SQL + NoSQL) – Stores user data, ride history, and
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location logs.
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. Caching (Redis, Memcached) – Speeds up frequent queries (e.g.,
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driver availability).
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2
3. Database Schema
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Users Table
user_id name type phone rating created_
at
1 John Rider 98765432 4.8 2025-03-
10 27
2 Alice Driver 98765432 4.7 2025-03-
11 27
Rides Table
ride_i rider_i driver pickup dropof fare status create
d d _id _locati f_loca d_at
on tion
101 1 2 Point A Point B $15 Compl 2025-
eted 03-27
Driver Availability Table
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driver_id latitude longitude status updated_at
2 37.7749 -122.4194 Online 2025-03-27
4. Ride Request Flow
. Rider Requests a Ride
○ Rider enters pickup and drop-off locations.
○ Request is sent to the Ride Matching Service.
. Finding a Driver
○ The system finds the nearest available driver using geospatial
queries.
○ The driver gets a request via the app.
. Driver Accepts the Ride
○ The driver accepts the ride.
○ Both rider and driver can track each other in real time.
. Ride in Progress
○ The system updates the trip status.
○ GPS tracking continues via Location Tracking Service.
. Ride Ends & Payment Processing
○ The trip is marked "Completed".
○ The Pricing Service calculates the fare.
○ The Payment Service processes the transaction.
. Feedback & Ratings
○ Both rider and driver can rate each other.
5. Scaling the System
● Geo-Indexing: Use spatial databases (PostGIS, MongoDB, Redis Geo)
to quickly find nearby drivers.
● Load Balancing: Distribute requests across multiple servers.
● Caching: Store frequently accessed data (e.g., nearby drivers) in
Redis.
● Message Queues (Kafka, RabbitMQ): Handle real-time updates
asynchronously.
● CDN for Maps & Assets: Optimize map loading times.
6. Real-Time Features
● WebSockets: Enable live location tracking.
● Push Notifications: Notify users of ride status changes.
● Polling (Backup Method): If WebSockets fail, fallback to periodic
polling.
7. Security Considerations
● Fraud Prevention: Detect fake GPS coordinates.
● Rate Limiting: Prevent spam ride requests.
● User Verification: Verify phone numbers and IDs for safety.
● Secure Payments: Use tokenization for transactions.
Final Architecture Diagram
User → API Gateway → (User Service, Ride Matching Service,
Location Tracking Service)
→ Redis (Cache for nearby drivers)
→ Database (SQL for structured data, NoSQL for location data)
→ Payment Gateway (Stripe, PayPal)
→ WebSockets (For real-time updates)
Would you like me to explain any part further, or should I move to the next
question?
