Uber builds a fake city to help drivers optimize their earnings

Uber is trying really hard to ensure that its service works for everyone. So much so, in fact, that it actually put in the effort to make a fake city to better analyze how its system works, and as a result, give its drivers invaluable feedback on how best to manage their time and maximize their earnings.

While it may have been simpler to conduct surveys, source drivers for feedback, and wrap all the data up in a nice presentation, Uber decided to take a more radical approach. It built a fake city by the name of Uberg, then hired daya analysts and scientists and had them use the city to improve the Uber experience.

Uber has 500 drivers and 250 passengers, each with a random destination. What Uber found was that drivers who lingered around the busier sections of the town fared much better, even when they had to travel further away from that destination to make drop-offs. It also concluded that having a “home base” increased the number of trips, as well as passenger happiness and overall efficiency.

“After adjusting for the cost of gas used during and between trips, simulated drivers following a random path between trips earn about half as much per hour as drivers with knowledge of demand locations. Drivers with access to intelligent, central dispatching earn 25-50% more than drivers who need to drive around looking for a passenger,” said Uber on its blog.

Read more about the story at VentureBeat.