The Pros and Cons of Uber's New Driver App

Today, Uber announced an "all-new app for partners" to help support drivers. This is welcome news for Uber drivers across the country (and world as this is rolling out globally), but there all still some critical pieces of information missing for drivers. We'll review them here in detail. And we'll be updating this post with feedback from drivers as it comes in - so check back and feel free to pass along to others.

The New Uber Partner App - Why Now?

This app announcement follows some important forces that Uber has certainly recognized recently - drivers want more control and the competition for drivers is heating up.

The majority of drivers who do any significant amount of driving realize that in order to make a good income on on-demand platforms, a deeper understanding of earnings is needed - hence SherpaShare's increasing popularity among drivers. In addition, driver's do want to understand where and when to work. Uber's new app recognizes this existing problem.

Also of significance has been Lyft's recent enhancements for its driver community, including in-app earnings information as well as same-day payout, operational discounts, and more. It's about time Uber has put out an answer to Lyft's pro-driver features.

Three Days Before the Driver 'Strike' - A Coincidence?

It's likely not a coincidence that this announcement is being made just three days ahead of what appears to be the largest ever planned strike by Uber Partners, being loosely organized by various drivers across the country. This strike, which we reported on when it was first being discussed, has been getting a good amount of media attention, however, the impact the strike may have is unclear. Uber certainly has some hope that this new partner app may help foster goodwill among drivers ahead of the proposed strike.

The App - What Do Drivers Get?

The new Uber Partner app will, in short, give drivers more digestible information on their earnings and ratings, and apparently, allow more direct support access. The app will have a home feed, an earnings summary, a ratings summary, and profile screen. Let's dive into these a bit more:

• The home feed will have a feed of information that's shared from, for example, the local Uber driving team as well as a heatmap for drivers.
• The earnings tab allows drivers to check in to see how they're doing during the week.
• The ratings tab allows drivers to see their ratings, any comments from drivers, and tips on how to improve.
• The profile tab allows drivers to update any information or get support.

The App - What's Still Missing?

The Uber partner app, by its very nature as a product from the company, cannot cover everything drivers are looking for, and unfortunately that still leaves some major support gaps. Here's what drivers noticed was still missing:

• There's no expense or full-cost management. Drivers want to know their full costs - this includes fuel costs and driving expenses.
• There's no full-time management, which can give drivers a more accurate understanding of their earnings per hour and driving efficiency.
• There's no feature that allows drivers to connect with each other, ask questions, tell stories, and more - important ways to collaborate with peers.
• Perhaps most importantly, the heatmaps and earnings information are still only from Uber's perspective. If you work for other services (the majority of workers) then you'll still have to toggle to other sources for information.

New Partner App - Summary

The driver app has some good features for drivers and has been a long time coming from Uber. How drivers react to this remains to be seen. And if this has any influence on the proposed strikers also remains to be seen.

While the app covers your Uber information, it still lacks tools to help drivers connect with each other, understand their full financial picture, and cover their other work. Most importantly, drivers will have to put trust that even the information Uber is providing is in their best interest, which historically has also been challenge. Try it out and let us know what you think on our in-app chat.

What do you think of the Uber Partner App? Tell us on our Driver Chat on our iOS or Android app. SherpaShare is the largest independent driver community in the US with 1 out of every 10 active drivers in the US on the app - join for free.

uber, partner, uber partner app, sherpashare

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