Currently testing in Washington, it identifies surge pricing areas and locations that could experience surges in future due to sporting events etc. Looks pretty early stage, but good concept!
@riaface
Hi, Ria. Been so busy I almost missed your post. Yes, we're early stage and fine-tuning it with extensive Driver-Partner feedback. Thanks for sharing it and your support!
Report
Is it possible that by getting more drivers to potential surge locations, you'll lower the % of the surge pricing for users? I see a potential win-win.
@daniloebs,
Thanks! You’re right on the money; I think it’s a win-win, as well. After reviewing the data, I’ve found several more areas ripe for improvement (and folks much smarter than I will probably find even more!). As I mentioned, my immediate need was to give myself and other Driver-Partners the information we needed to make better day-to-day decisions. This, of course, involved surge pricing, patterns, etc. After releasing several iterations of the service, the demand from other Driver-Partners has been insatiable and I’ve been working with them to continue the feedback loop (I haven’t even been able to continue driving!). I’d definitely like to explore more in this direction - hopefully I can obtain more resources to assist in this effort (I’m on AngelList - hint, hint). :)
@rrhoover Thanks, Ryan! Some of the surge fluctuations captured are too small to matter to the Driver-Partners (i.e. 30 seconds) but the ones which last longer than several minutes do come in handy for: establishing patterns and laying the groundwork for additional (predictive) analytics. I put a screenshot of some monitoring I did last night on @WhereMySurgeApp. Before this the Driver-Partner community had nothing to gauge surge frequency, length, etc. - this is the foundation which is improving with leaps-and-bounds from the tremendous feedback I've received from everyone!
Report
Interesting! When do you plan on rolling out to California? I have friends who drive in the SF Bay Area and Los Angeles. There is definitely a strategy to maximizing earnings while driving Uber but a lot of it is very time-and-event based. IE: post-bar crowd, festivals in SF. But this would be super helpful for the lesser-known triggers for surging Uber demand.
@stttories Hi, Tori! Thanks for your support! I actually have about a dozen cities with Driver-Partner contacts in the queue now; I'm directing everyone to send to feedback to support@wheremysurgeapp.com so I can consolidate and keep track of all of the requests. .. I just checked and San Fran and LA were requested/added. I'm working with the Driver-Partners now to get actual "boots-on-the-ground" information - this is a tool for us (I'm a Driver as well) and our feedback is key to the success of this product - I'm simply the vessel through which the community is speaking and I hope it's doing some good. Please encourage your friends share their feedback and I promise to incorporate as much as I can. Thanks for your support!
As an Uber driver myself, I can't wait for this to make its way to Philly. One thing that I am starting to notice is that Monday mornings seem to be a very popular time for airport runs (which are very profitable for me.) I'm wondering if any of the flight data has been made public by the airlines. This could also be used to predict the money driving times near airports.
Lastly, any thoughts on making this available for Lyft in the future? I know a lot of drivers drive for both services so maybe even something that ties everything together to tell the driver whether they will make more money driving Uber over Lyft or vice versa. Thanks for creating this, I see a lot of promise.
Report
I like this and sent it to the three driver partners I know in DC. Like you mentioned, there are big conferences, sporting events, market specific traffic patterns & other triggers outside of surge pricing that could impact a decision to drive & what route to head in.
@jhtdc Exactly, Jason! Yes, conferences, events, weather - the Driver-Partners are surfacing things I hadn’t even covered yet. I’m excited right now about the time integration - check this out: http://screencast.com/t/oTOdR4R8z - I’ll release that after I’ve integrated the new cities. I’ve put up a form on the site for everyone to add their email address and city/feature requests - please do so I can ensure I can reach out for additional or follow-up information! (BTW, I follow CODE2040 - good stuff happening over there).
Hi, Napoleon - we actually have Philly on the list, so you shouldn't have to wait too long! You're right there are many variables which can be looked at in concert with the data - we’re talking weather, flight data, Events, and more. We’re definitely looking into it and using the great feedback Driver-Partners (like you!) are sharing. And yes, we're reviewing Lyft, too. No problem - please share with your friends and like us on our Facebook page and @WhereMySurgeApp on Twitter, as well!
Pivot
WhereMySurgeApp!
WhereMySurgeApp!
Product Hunt
WhereMySurgeApp!
WhereMySurgeApp!
CrateStream
WhereMySurgeApp!
WhereMySurgeApp!