Uber Launching Unusual Strategy In Japan’s Small Town Tangocho

Tangocho is a small coastal town on the Sea of Japan and ride hailing company Uber is trying deploy an unusual strategy to grab the market as most of the elderly customers don’t own a smartphone there and calls someone who owns a cell phone device to summon rides.

The market is typical with just one bus route to weave through the mountains every hour. The older folks find difficulty to shop and take care of basic errands.

With the population of 5,914, the average age of cab passenger is at least 70 in the town that was once known for supplying fabric to Kimono tailors in Kyoto, ancient capital of Japan.

Ken Miyao, analyst at Tokyo-based market researcher Carnorama, said transportation is a never-ending even in depopulated areas and if they are able to help folks in such rural areas, in the long run it will come as a big help to loosen regulations and may also help them in rolling out a proper ride-sharing service in big cities too including Tokyo.

If Uber is able to prevail in Tangocho, the company will focus in more than 500 other such smaller places in the country that allow unregulated car services.

Meanwhile, it is also learned from Uber’s end talks are ongoing with several municipalities.

However, it is yet to see how long Uber will stick to the program as the company is moving slower in Tangocho compared to other markets across the world.