Uber to show drivers destination before they decide on trip request

Firm says it has raised rates to cushion impact of rising fuel prices on drivers' earnings

Cab-hailing platform Uber India on Thursday announced new product features, including an upfront destination feature for drivers, which will show them trip destinations before they decide to accept the ride. The feature comes at a time when riders have complained about drivers cancelling trips, said the company.

“To remove frustration for riders and drivers alike, we are now showing trip destinations to drivers before they decide to accept the ride. In our attempt to incentivise right platform behaviour, drivers who meet a predefined trip acceptance threshold will be eligible to get the destination information so that they can make an informed choice. The upfront destination feature is already live across 20 cities and will be expanded to all others,” said Uber in a statement.

Uber said, over the past few weeks, it has raised fares to cushion drivers from the impact of rising fuel prices across many cities here. The firm said it has introduced additional earnings for drivers in case they have to travel a long distances to pick up riders.

“This will give drivers the comfort to accept more trips and will benefit riders as trip reliability goes up. Drivers will be able to see the earnings for long pickups, separately displayed on the fare receipt. When drivers are few, and demand is high, this will help ensure that you can get a ride when you need one,” said the company.

Uber also announced flexibility around payments for its drivers.

“Drivers at the Uber advisory council meeting told us they would like more flexibility around payments. We are now showing drivers the mode of payment (cash or online) before the trip starts. This enables the driver to choose a cash-only ride if that’s what they need,” the firm said.  

“Going a step further to make the cash or online decision irrelevant, we’ve now introduced a daily pay process for drivers. This will ensure that trip earnings from Monday to Thursday, are credited to drivers the next day, while earnings from Friday to Sunday, are credited on Monday,” said Uber.

The additional features come at a time when Uber Technologies has announced a fresh round of recruitment for its Indian tech centres, outlining plans to hire 500 more techies by December.

The app-based mobility and delivery company has a 1,000-member tech team across its centres in Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

Uber added 250 engineers to its India teams in 2021. The company has been expanding teams at all its tech centres across the globe, including the US, Canada, Latin America, Amsterdam, and at its twin centres in India.