Uber launches its first Driver Advisory Council; to address critical issues, improve platform experience

Uber on Wednesday announced the launch of its first National Driver Advisory Council (DAC) which will facilitate a two-way dialogue between the ride-hailing company and drivers to address critical issues and improve their platform experience.

This comes at a time when there has been constant friction between the drivers, their unions and Uber management. The initiative will bring drivers' voice to the table through an independent board monitored forum. Some of the issues being cab fares, black listing of drivers among other things.

Its inaugural national meeting was held in Gurugram on March 23. The newly formed council aims to facilitate a two-way dialogue between Uber and drivers to address all critical issues and improve drivers’ platform experience. Sources in Uber said that to be a part of the council, more than 35 drivers were chosen from 6 metros.

These drivers work across a range of facilities including cars, auto-rickshaws and motorbikes and represent the interests of other drivers on the platform. For the maiden meeting, the advisory council took up a wide range of issues for discussion with a special focus on driver earnings and support to them.

Commenting on the occasion, Prabhjeet Singh, President, Uber India, and South Asia, said, “The DAC is our earnest attempt to listen directly to drivers and stay focused on their needs. Be it building the product, setting up processes, or choosing the right partnerships– direct feedback, actionable insights and deeper engagement will help drive outcomes beneficial for all. We are committed to providing an open, accessible, and rewarding platform for drivers to make sustainable earnings.”

However, the driver unions claim that this is nothing but a farce as for so many months now Uber has not been able to do much on bringing parity in fare structure and earnings.

“The drivers are still shouting about the low fares. They are in such horrible financial condition that they are forced to sell their vehicles, claim insurance in some way or another. Moreover, with e-vehicles being initiated, the drivers are facing sustenance trouble as there isn’t a solid infrastructure for cabs that run for 14-15 hours a day, plus the rising fuel prices. All these factors lead to drivers not faring well in providing service to passengers,” said a member of Aggregator Cab Drivers Union.

There is no doubt that passengers are complaining about the long waiting time for aggregator cabs, frequent cancellations, drivers asking the destination before picking up and other issues.

However Uber claims that the DAC has a third-party review board that will help build the council, moderate discussions, surface actionable insights to follow-ups and work closely with drivers and Uber to take up issues these matter.

Uber spokespersons claimed that drivers underwent a three-phase selection process to be a part of the council and entries were filtered based on various parameters including the driver being active on the Uber platform and having no prior safety incidents.

Finally, through meetings with the independent review board, the drivers were tested on their potential to contribute to solutions to prevailing challenges. The selected drivers will represent their community for a year after which the selection process will be repeated.