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Uber / Lyft / Ola — Simple#

Problem statement (interviewer prompt)

Design Uber / Lyft: riders request rides, the system finds a nearby driver in seconds, computes fare with surge, tracks the trip live, and charges on completion. Handle 10M+ rides/day, location pings every 1–3s, and dispatch decisions in <5s.

flowchart LR
  R([Rider])
  D([Driver])
  DISP[Dispatch]
  GEO[Geo Index]
  PRICE[Pricing / Surge]
  PAY[Payment]
  R --> DISP --> D
  D --> GEO
  DISP --> GEO
  DISP --> PRICE
  R --> PAY

    classDef client fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#1e40af,stroke-width:1px,color:#0f172a;
    classDef edge fill:#cffafe,stroke:#0e7490,stroke-width:1px,color:#0f172a;
    classDef service fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#92400e,stroke-width:1px,color:#0f172a;
    classDef datastore fill:#fee2e2,stroke:#991b1b,stroke-width:1px,color:#0f172a;
    classDef cache fill:#fed7aa,stroke:#9a3412,stroke-width:1px,color:#0f172a;
    classDef queue fill:#ede9fe,stroke:#5b21b6,stroke-width:1px,color:#0f172a;
    classDef compute fill:#d1fae5,stroke:#065f46,stroke-width:1px,color:#0f172a;
    classDef storage fill:#e5e7eb,stroke:#374151,stroke-width:1px,color:#0f172a;
    classDef external fill:#fce7f3,stroke:#9d174d,stroke-width:1px,color:#0f172a;
    classDef obs fill:#f3e8ff,stroke:#6b21a8,stroke-width:1px,color:#0f172a;
    class R,D client;
    class DISP,GEO,PRICE,PAY service;