Über Creates Fake City To Improve Driver, Passenger Experience

Uber is really, really serious about making their service work for everyone. So much so, they went through the trouble of making a fake city to better analyze how their system worked, and give drivers invaluable feedback on how to maximize their time and earnings. It's a stroke of genius, and a look at the lengths Uber is willing to go for us to be happy using them.

They could have used us for this, after all. It would have been simple to conduct surveys, source drivers for feedback, and cobble the data together for consumption. Instead, they built a fake city, hired data analysts and scientists, and got down to business.

Uberg, which exists in the artificial world of Python (I see what you did there, Devs), is 100 by 100 blocks of pure driving bliss. Uberg has 500 drivers and 250 passengers, and each rider has a random destination.

What they found was that drivers who gravitated to busier sections of town did better, even when they travelled further away from that destination for drop-offs. Having a "home base" increased the number of trips, passenger happiness, and overall efficiency.

Source: Uber