Uber offers a rating system for both drivers and passengers to make sure the experience was good for both parties. The company evaluates both opinions to be as fair as possible, especially when dealing with a low rating, and neither the driver nor the passenger will know their rating for a particular ride. Still, there are some occasions when people’s opinions might not be very accurate, so Uber is now using technology to get as close to the truth as they can. The company recently launched a pilot program using the sensors integrated into smartphones to verify such feedback.
The program analyzes data provided by the GPS and accelerometer to know the speed of the vehicle as well as when it stops and they even analyze data from the gyroscope, which detect small movements. For example, if the gyroscope detects that the driver has been moving his smartphone during a ride, the company might offer a mount for their phone to prevent such distractions. The speed of the vehicle as well as the way a driver accelerates or brakes can be used in those cases when a passenger complains about any of these aspects, if the data matches the complaint, the company will surely talk to the driver to encourage him to drive in a more careful way, on the other hand, if the situation was sort of exaggerated by the passenger, the driver’s rating won’t be affected. Using this data, the company could also determine average speeds and times to know more about how their drivers are operating their vehicles in certain areas. Collecting this kind of data could be subject to some controversy as maybe the company could restrict their drivers to go to certain areas and there could be some privacy concerns.
This measure is mainly used to prevent accidents, as it is known that speeding and distractions while driving are some of the main causes of many them. The company is constantly looking for ways to improve their services, for example, they offer Bop It toys in some regions to entertain drunk passengers and prevent them from distracting drivers. They also use lights of certain colors to be identified more easily at night in some other regions.