Uber to roll-out new tools to make pickups efficient for both riders and drivers

Uber pickups can be stressful, for both the riders and the drivers, and so, Uber is reportedly rolling out a new set of tools to fix this problem. A lot of things go haywire, when you request an Uber ride, especially during times of surge in ride requests. The confusions end up in a lot of cancellations and most of us have been through that. This is set to change now, because according to a report by The Verge, Uber is constantly looking for ways to reduce the number of rides that get canceled. This action is called “wasted supply.” [caption id=“attachment_4606011” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Uber app and a bus in London. Image: Reuters[/caption] Richard Yu, Uber’s product manager says that “when the driver has not yet arrived at the pickup location, there’s this resounding sense of stress on their part because they don’t know what to look for necessarily. All they have is the pin and the address. We’re trying to give them more context." So how many of you uselessly levitate your phone in the air while trying to draw the driver’s attention? One of the tools called Spotlight can make that useless gesture, useful. Upon a rider requesting a ride, the feature will allow them to light up their phones in a specific colour, giving drivers an identifying signal. Driver’s will already have a message about what colour to look out for. Uber’s also providing a better way to communicate your location to your driver. You will be able to send a message within the in a chatbox and provide details like landmarks or what color clothes you’re wearing. Additionally, the app will also read out these messages, keeping in mind that reading this messages can be a distraction while driving. Finally, According to the report, Uber has guaranteed that all pre-scheduled pickups will be on time, and if your driver doesn’t to arrive at the scheduled time, Uber will give you some amount that you can put toward your next trip. We have no information when these features will roll out, but we are hoping that they will be available for the Indian users as well.