DHAKA: Uber, the world's largest on-demand ride-sharing company, today celebrated 180 days of service in Dhaka, by reiterating that the company’s strategic focus in 2017 will be to make every Uber ride in Dhaka a great experience for both riders and driver partners. Dhaka has emerged as one of the fastest growing market in Asia Pacific. 

“Dhaka suffers from some of the worst congestion in the world. There is an appetite for more options for reliable, efficient and affordable ways to get to and from work and move around Dhaka, especially on routes underserved by public transit. That’s where ridesharing comes into play. Smartphone apps like Uber can help to use today’s infrastructure, more efficiently at no extra cost. This enables more people to share their journeys and provides an affordable, convenient alternative to car ownership. I am grateful to the people of Dhaka - our riders and driver partners for making us a part of their lives,” said ArpitMundra, General Manager, Uber Dhaka.

Highlights of the first 180 Days of Uber in Dhaka:

•    Average ETAs have been as low as 8 mins for almost 75% of the trips
•    Morning 8am-10am, and evening 6pm-10pm have been the most popular Uber hours of the day
•    Airport road, BRAC University and Gulshan 2 have emerged as the most popular Uber destinations in the city
•    A single driver in Dhaka has taken 1671 trips
•    A single rider in Dhaka has taken 391 trips
•    We’ve seen a diverse bunch of driver partners - from big fleet operators; to a single car owner who drives full time; to professionals from telcos and banks putting their cars on Uber for some additional income; to students who’ve taken up driving on weekends to earn extra pocket money
•    Besides using Uber as a regular mode of transportation for office commute, riders in Dhaka trust Uber for their early morning trips to the airport and choose to Uber after late night dinners with friends or family. Above all, women riders in the city have welcomed Uber as it gives them the freedom of mobility, and assures them a reliable ride at all times

In order to further accelerate adoption of Uber and make every ride a shared ride, Uber is rolling out a slew of technology innovations aimed at making Uber even more reliable and convenient for riders; and effortless for driver partners in the city. These updates will address some of the common feedback from riders and driver-partners and are designed to further enhance the Uber experience.
 

Here are some interesting product features that make the Uber experience much more effortless for Dhaka:

Safety for Riders and Driver Partners: We believe that technologies like Uber provide an incredible opportunity to improve safety of rider and drivers in new and innovative ways—before, during and after every ride. Here’s how we are making rides in Dhaka safer like never before:

Trips are no longer anonymous. When a driver accepts a request, his or her first name, photo, license plate number, and rating will be shown to the person being picked up.  In addition, the driver can see the first name and rating of the passenger. Drivers and riders can contact each other through the app if there is any confusion around pick-up details.    

Driver partners are verified. We have a zero tolerance policy towards any abusive behavior on our platform. In addition, we are equally conscious about recruiting driver partners with valid documents and go through a mandatory soft skill training that enables them to offer riders a great experience. 

Never get lost. When riders enter their destination into their app, they can see their route live on a map in the app so they always know where they are and if they are on the right route.


Share my journey. Riders can easily share their ride details, including the specific route and estimated time of arrival, with friends or family for extra peace of mind. They’ll receive a link where they can see in real time the name and photo of the driver, the vehicle, and the trip route live on the map until the final destination is reached — and they can do all of this without having to download the Uber app themselves.

Faster Pickups, Better Availability and Expected Time of Arrivals: Quick pickups are critical to the overall Uber experience, so we’re working hard to minimize time spent waiting for riders. We are able to provide higher reliability because we are constantly working with our driver partners to improve expected time of arrivals (ETAs). 

Forward Dispatch: Our partners can receive their next trip just before their current trip is over. Since often times a car ending a trip will get to you much faster than the next closest car already available, a request is accepted by the car ending a trip instead means huge ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival of your Uber) savings for riders and partners alike.

More control and clarity for drivers: Pickups and drop-offs are undoubtedly one of the hardest parts of driving with Uber. We want to give drivers more control over their experience, and as much clarity around Uber earnings as possible.

Pause Button: Drivers have always wanted an option to stop requests temporarily and this is now possible on the Uber Partner App. If a driver is looking to take a break he can hit the “Stop New Requests” button while on a trip which will temporarily make him ineligible for dispatches.

Uber was first launched in Dhaka on November 22, 2016, with the aim of revolutionizing the way millions of people think about getting around their cities.

BDST: 1458 HRS, MAY 23, 2017
AP