Earn on your own schedule

First New Zealand Advisory Forum 2025 – 2026

21 July / New Zealand

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In April this year, we held our first bi-annual Driver-Partner Advisory Forum for the 2025-2026 cycle, in Auckland with new driver-partner Advisors from across New Zealand to discuss ‘trip-types’ and ‘driver-partner ratings given by riders’
This was our first forum with the new group of Advisors and we’re very excited to engage with them over the next two years. Uber’s Managing Director, Emma Foley, as well as other members of the Uber New Zealand team attended the forum to engage with the advisors and listen to their feedback on how to improve the driving experience on the Uber app.
Watch the video


Have Your Say’ Survey Report
We want to thank the 618 driver-partners who shared their views on ‘trip-types’ and ‘driver-partner ratings given by riders’ via the ‘Have Your Say’ survey before the forum. These insights helped shaped the discussions on the day of the forum, with advisors having read through the responses and brought forward fresh perspectives and new solutions.
What we heard during the Forum
Forum Discussion on Trip Types
What’s working well?
Advisors appreciated having a variety of trip types, including Uber X, Uber Green, Pool and Reserve, as these help to increase earning opportunities.
Advisors liked Uber Reserve because it shows upfront fares and let’s them schedule trips in advance, helping to manage schedules efficiently.
Advisors eligible for Uber Green liked it as it offered more opportunities and savings from fuel costs 
The advisors were open with their feedback on the challenges that are present in relation to the variety of trip types and made suggestions on what could be improved, including;
Advisors said that long pick ups and additional waiting on multiple stops affected their earnings.  Advisors feel that Uber could work on reducing long pickups and charging for wait time on multiple stops. 
Driver-partners highlighted concerns around the need for clearer descriptions of trip types for riders, and improving the Uber Reserve experience. They also pointed out vehicle limitations, such as small cars often being too small for airport trips due to minimal bag space, leading to frustration for both driver-partners and riders. 
Advisors suggested that Uber introduce a new ride option for riders to book a vehicle with extra space for baggage, which would also give driver-partners with larger vehicles additional earning opportunities.
Advisors also said that Uber should partner with  charging companies and provide more support for EV driver-partners
We’re excited to share that since the forum, we launched Uber Big Boot is in New Zealand, allowing driver-partners with eligible vehicles to start receiving higher fares from riders than on equivalent trips taken on Uber X.
Forum Discussion on Driver-partner ratings given by riders
Ratings given by both riders and driver-partners play a key role in keeping the Uber community safe. With that, there are some improvements that can be made in this area.
What’s working well?
Advisors acknowledged that ratings play a crucial role in safety for both driver-partners and riders, as it’s the only method both parties have to provide feedback
Ratings are useful as they allow driver-partners and riders to learn and improve from past behaviour
There was strong support for safety features like ratings protection and the ability to unpair riders and driver-partners.
Some areas of concern and suggestions for improvement include;
Driver-partners shared that rider behaviour significantly impacts driving experience, including issues like poor communication, vehicle damage and unreasonable requests. Advisors suggest more education for riders about appropriate conduct through in-app warnings and educating driver-partners on how to communicate with riders when they break Community Guidelines.
Advisors noted that ratings often do not represent the true story and emphasised that ratings should be used properly, not abused. There was a strong desire for additonal ratings protection measures. Advisors suggested blocking riders with a history of malicious or untrue ratings from being able to rate driver-partners and requiring riders to provide reasoning for a rating under 3 stars.
A significant concern for driver-partners is dealing with damage to their vehicles, especially during later hours. Advisors suggested improving support from Uber when a driver-partner suffers damage to their vehicle.
What’s next?
The next New Zealand Advisory Forum will be held in September 2025. To get involved and provide feedback on your experience with driving with the Uber app, you can book a session with an Advisor via ‘Open Hours’ and answer the ‘Have Your Say Survey’.  Instructions on how to participate in both will be sent to your Driver app inbox. Keep an eye out for them! Results from these two feedback channels will help shape the next Forum discussion.
Learn more→