Drivers are at the heart of what we do at Uber, and we are determined to be the platform of choice for them. To make sure we are listening to them, we launched India’s first Driver Advisory Council (DAC) along with Aapti Institute last year. We marked the first year milestone of the Council by sharing what we learnt and announcing the second edition of the Council. 

The Council provides gig workers a space to discuss issues that impact them. It comprises drivers from 6 cities across cars, auto-rickshaws and motorbikes who represent the interests of tens of thousands of driver partners using the Uber platform. Last year, the Council comprised 58 driver partners who were part of 3 in-person sessions and two online sessions, convened by Aapti between March 2022 and March 2023. Topics discussed included earnings, product enhancements, social security, app experience and safety. 

Based on these sessions, and recommendations from Aapti Institute, we implemented several changes last year. As per an internal survey of 80,000 driver partners by Uber, 85% of the respondents believed that the changes had a positive impact on their driving experience and 92% drivers wanted DAC to continue.  

Aapti Institute unveiled an impact report on the learnings from the Council meetings in its inaugural year. The report highlights changes introduced by Uber as per the recommendations from the Independent Review Board (IRB) led by Aapti Institute:

Reduction in driver cancellations: The Council meetings helped Uber better understand the issues faced by driver partners that led them to cancel rides. Subsequently, we made the drop-off destination and mode of payment known upfront to driver partners prior to their acceptance of trip requests. These changes helped driver partners make an informed decision and reduced trip cancellations.

Transparency in driver earnings: We also got insights into the reasons why some driver partners ask for extra money or refuse online payments. Fuel prices had gone up and driver partners’ earnings were impacted. Online payments were transferred to the driver partners’ accounts after almost a week. To address these issues, we increased fares  in major cities to offset the fuel price increases. We also sped up the processing time for online trip payments by introducing a ‘Daily Pay’ process. Now drivers receive payments the day after the trip, except for weekends, when payments hit their accounts on Monday.

Easier app-experience for driver partners: Driver partners also highlighted bugs or missing features on the Uber app such as the lack of a convenient login interface. We now provide a phone button on the homepage added to the driver-partner’s Uber app to call for support and display the customer’s chosen payment method for a trip.

Dr. Sarayu Natarajan, Founder, Aapti Institute, said, “The Driver Advisory Council (DAC) represents a first-of-its kind effort in India’s platform gig economy to  promote participatory governance of platform work.  Gig workers’  participation in an independent third-party mediated forum introduces a robust and resilient  alternative framework for governance. This empowers drivers by giving them a seat at the table, and benefits the society at large. Participative dialogue can help generate insight on issues faced by drivers, to enable potential positive changes to regulations, as well as Uber’s policies and products.”

Driver partners on Council  nominate themselves after meeting certain eligibility requirements. Finally, through meetings with the IRB, the driver partners are tested on their potential to contribute to solutions to prevailing challenges. After the selected drivers have been part of the Council for a year, the selection process is repeated. 

Sarathi Datta, a driver partner from Kolkata with over 11000 trips over 4 years, shared his views: “Our sessions with the Council have led to significant changes over the last few months. It must continue as the forum has tremendous potential to bring about a positive impact for gig workers on the platform, and help them feel like they are being engaged with. In coming years, the Council can be made even better with regular feedback on the impact of changes and meetings every two-weeks.”

The Driver Advisory Council is a global best practice for Uber with similar models in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Uber continues to stay committed to supporting the rights of gig workers using the Uber platform.