Personalisation Suggestions on Uber

I have been using Uber for quite some time now to commute from home to office and office to home. Initially I used to alternate between Uber and Ola, but after a while I realised that the service that OLA drivers give is way below than what Uber drivers give. At times I had doubts if same drivers alternate between these two aggregators. But that is a different topic to think.

 Today morning when I boarded the cab, I sensed that I give same instruction to every cab driver - Please push the seat towards front. The driver would then ask me which route to take and I always specify a specific route. Then at a certain point, I'll ask the driver to start the A/C. This is typically at the University circle where there is traffic jam. On way back, I choose a specific point to board the cab, and instantly ask to turn on the A/C.

 All these things could easily be personalised. Either a customer herself can put these instructions in the App, which could be displayed to the driver when trip is assigned to him, or drivers could mark it during the feedback. Some things are subjective and possibly couldn't be easily achieved, but rest could be!

 Here are few things that could be done:

  • Seat position - This is important for me as I work from the cab and need maximum available space.
  • A/C setting
  • Music - I usually like to have some music in the background - preferably not from radio. 
  • Open for conversation / DND - I have met some drivers who were very talkative and continued talking despite me working and not encouraging the discussion. This setting would tell the drivers if they can interact with the passenger or keep the interaction to the minimum.
  • not-Preferred car - I particularly dislike EECO cars as they do not have sufficient leg space and it makes not just working but even sitting very uncomfortable. So it would be nice to allow customer to bar certain models - may be just 1-2. 
  • Preferred language of communication - Most of the drivers I have talked to, have said that it is rare to have a Marathi speaking customer and hence they start the conversation in Hindi.  

If I see that the seat is already in a position that I need, A/C turned On without me noticing it, or the app automatically choosing my boarding point as the first suggestion or the driver greeting me in my preferred language -  that would be an awesome experience.

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