Uber driver will be able to see trip destination before accepting ride

Uber on Thursday said its drivers would be able to see the final destination of the passenger before they accept the ride as it looks to cut down on trip cancellation post-booking of the trip.

The move follows feedback that the ride-hailing app received from its National Driver Advisory Council which was launched in March 2022 to facilitate a two-way dialogue between Uber and drivers across six metro cities to address key issues.

"To enhance transparency and remove frustration for riders and drivers, drivers on the Uber platform across India will now be able to see the trip destination before they decide to accept the ride," Uber said in a statement.

The company said it had done a pilot project in May on the same which yielded encouraging results in the reduction of trip cancellations. "Uber has decided to do away with the trip acceptance threshold and rolled out the unconditional feature to all cities. Uber will continue monitoring feedback from drivers and riders and make changes if required," the ride-hailing firm said.

To further facilitate ease of doing business on its platform, Uber has now introduced an OTP-based login that will help drivers to log in to the app in a hassle-free and convenient way without the need to remember passwords or other details.

Based on the discussion during the second meeting of its driver advisory council, Uber also took cognizance of common issues faced by drivers and provided solutions.

Uber Auto and Moto drivers will now have a Home phone button added to their Uber app to call for support when required. To address feedback from Moto drivers about lack of awareness about waiting charges, Uber will now send a push notification to riders about waiting charges when they book a trip, the statement said.

"Drivers at the airport often faced an operational challenge as they had to pay for airport charges upfront and later get reimbursed. However, now Uber has introduced cashless operations at airports in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, and Bangalore," Uber said.

After the first meeting of the Driver Advisory Council, Uber introduced several changes which include up to a 15 per cent increase in fares to offset the cost of rising fuel prices, a long-distance pick-up fee to compensate drivers when they travel a long distance to pick up riders and changed payment frequency to all weekdays for drivers to receive online payment transfer etc.

The Driver Advisory Council comprises 37 drivers chosen from six metros after a carefully crafted three-part process run by an Independent Review Board.

These drivers work across a range of product offerings available on Uber including cars, auto-rickshaws, and motorbikes, and represent the interests of tens of thousands of drivers on the platform.