How ride-hailing works. A ride-hailing app is a marketplace with two sides: riders and drivers. The app does four jobs:

The drivers are usually not employees. They are independent workers, often called gig workers, who own or rent their vehicles.

How the money flows. Most apps keep a share of each fare, called a commission. Some charge drivers a fixed daily or monthly fee instead, and let them keep the whole fare. This is the subscription model.

Why a few large apps win. More drivers mean shorter waits, which attract more riders. More riders mean more income for drivers, which attracts more drivers. The industry calls this a network effect. It is why each city tends to have only a few large apps.

A ride-hailing app is a marketplace with two sides: it matches riders with drivers, sets the fare, takes payment and builds trust, and more drivers bring more riders, who in turn bring more drivers.

Other ways to get around. A driver-on-demand service sends a driver to drive your own car. Shared electric scooters and bicycles, rented by the minute, are called micromobility.

Parking. Software is also removing the parking ticket and the barrier. Cameras read a car's number plate as it enters and leaves, and the fee is charged to the driver's account.

The large ride-hailing companies do much of their engineering in India.

Every company named here has posted software engineering jobs in India. Famous companies that don't actively hire software engineers in India are left out.