m4.2 Presentation Uber Applying Machine Learning To Improve The Customer Experience

M4.
2 PRESENTATION: UBER: APPLYING

MACHINE LEARNING TO IMPROVE THE
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
BIA-610 APPLIED ANALYTICS

Stevens Institute of Technology – Summer 2021
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Table of Contents
M4.2 Presentation: Uber: Applying Machine Learning to Improve the Customer Experience..........0
1 Uber: Applying Machine Learning to Improve the Customer Experience................................2
1.1 Uber Case Question.............................................................................................................2
1.1.1 What are the potential pain points of the pickup experience for the different customer personas?
Use the persona information in the case, the narrative in Exhibit 5, and your personal experience to identify pain
points for each of the rider personas, as well as for the driver...........................................................2
1.1.2 Define the ideal pickup experience for each of the rider personas, as well as the driver persona. Use
the information provided in the case regarding the priorities and expectations of individual personas to define an
ideal pickup experience for each one. Create a short description of the ideal experience, as well as a list of two or
three outcome expectations for each persona....................................................................................2
1.1.3 Develop a list of hypotheses Uber could use to predict a rider's pickup location with information
such as the rider's previous trips and current destination, as well as historical patterns related to the pickup
location. Augment the case information with your personal Uber experiences to suggest potential hypotheses.
2
1.1.4 Create a quantitative pickup quality metric using attributes derived from the passive, active, and
third-party signals available to Uber. Discuss why your selected attributes represent a robust pickup quality metric.
What weights would you assign to the features you chose for your pickup model?...........................2
1.1.5 Based on your pickup quality metric, what actions can Uber operators take to improve the pickup
experience? 2
1.1.6 How would you improve the pickup experience at venues such as sporting events and concerts,
which typically see temporary surges in demand for Uber rides, as well as temporary parking restrictions and traffic
congestion? 2
1.1.7 Discuss the steps involved in setting up an ML model for automating pickups at scale. Use the
framework of the seven-step model in the case (Exhibit 7) to elaborate on how Uber should apply this framework to
the ML model. Hint: you can create a table and list for the test under each step...............................2
Table of Figures
NO TABLE OF FIGURES ENTRIES FOUND.
Table of Tables
NO TABLE OF FIGURES ENTRIES FOUND.
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1 UBER: APPLYING MACHINE LEARNING TO IMPROVE THE CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE
1.1 UBER CASE QUESTION
1.1.1 What are the potential pain points of the pickup experience for the different
customer personas? Use the persona information in the case, the narrative in
Exhibit 5, and your personal experience to identify pain points for each of the
rider personas, as well as for the driver.
 For each of the customer personas listed below, there are all sorts of various pain points that differ from
one persona to the next with all sorts of different needs / wants along with their own set of unique
problems that needs solving.
o Premium – Want the best quality transportation that is available. They will pay the premium to
get what they want (e.g., convenience, leather seats, high end cars, curb to curb service pick up
and a personalized experience).
o High-Frequency Riders (HFR) – Expected quick pickups on busy streets (can be challenging in
dense traffic, one way streets and parking restrictions). This is especially true in cities like
Manhattan.
o Commuters – Want consistent pick up and drop off points due to frequent uses. They also care a
lot about timelines.
o Social – Usually travel in groups and expect late hour pick up times at busy areas (e.g., stadiums,
events)
o Travelers – Expect timely and stress-free pick up when traveling (e.g., from airports for instance).
This would also include area of pick up and the correct driver.
 However, even though each of the personas have somewhat of a different pain points, a majority of their
pain points all involve being picked in a timely matter at the right location. Riders would also appreciate
being picked up at the right place. This use to be an issue (at least for me) when using UBER before.
Sometimes the app would tell you to meet at a certain street but the drivers were unable to get there due
to restrictions or whatever other issues that occurred. Usually when cases like this occurs, there would be
some form of communication between the rider and driver, but this should be built into the algorithm so
that the problem can be somewhat mitigated.
 From the Driver’s perspective, they are only following the directions that is provided by Uber to pick up the
riders. Usually this could lead them on a wild goose chase to get to their destination. Riders tend to get
annoyed and blame the drivers but in reality, Uber as the company who puts out the app is responsible.
There are also other pain points where some riders like to chit chat with the drivers, but if the driver who
is somewhat anti-social, and does not respond, they get bad reviews
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1.1.2 Define the ideal pickup experience for each of the rider personas, as well as the
driver persona. Use the information provided in the case regarding the priorities
and expectations of individual personas to define an ideal pickup experience for
each one. Create a short description of the ideal experience, as well as a list of
two or three outcome expectations for each persona.
 Premium
o Ideal Description – The rider is picked up in the best quality transportation that is available from
Uber with a curb to curb service and a personalized experience (e.g., could range from the driver
wearing a suit and the way they address the passenger)
 Rider – The rider chooses one of the luxury services that Uber has and gets picked up by
the driver with the best-personalized curbside experienced. The driver gets out of the car
and opens the door for the rider and stores any baggage (if any) that the rider has. As the
rider gets in, they noticed that the car is clean and fresh with drinks available at their
choosing (this may not be valid during Covid). Pleased, the rider thanks the driver for the
personal touch and they are on their way to the location.
 Driver – The driver makes sure they are dressed nicely and that the car is cleaned when
picking up the rider who ordered the luxury service. They make sure that the drink
selection they have is displayed to the rider as they get in. When they arrive to greet their
rider, they get out of the car and opens the door for them.
o Outcome 1 – No issue arises and the driver is able to find the pick up / drop off location without
any problems. The rider has a great experience and tips the driver quite well.
o Outcome 2 – The first driver gets into an accident and is unable to meet the rider on time. They
let the rider know and another driver will be picking them up shortly. They apologize for the
inconvenience and move along.
 High Frequency Rider
o Ideal Description – These riders tend to expect quick curbside pickups on busy streets. In an ideal
situation, the drivers are able to pick up the riders from the busy streets (e.g., dense traffic, one-
way streets, parking restrictions) without an issue
 Rider – The rider calls for an Uber in the streets of Manhattan and is awaiting the driver to
pick them up. Rider noticed that the street is more packed than usual and decides to
change the location of the pick up to a less crowded area(since they know it will be next to
impossible to find each other with all the traffic).
 Driver – The driver is on their way to pick up the HFR but noticed that it would take longer
than usual to get there. Not wanting to deviate from the route, the driver sits in traffic
until they get to the pick up location.
o Outcome 1 – Due to the huge amount of traffic and not wanting to be late, the rider changes the
location pick-up by calling the driver where they can meet in a less crowded area. The driver
accepts and meets with the rider at the specified location which saves them a lot of time. This
allows the driver to pick up more customers after this rider was done using their service.
o Outcome 2 – The driver is stuck in traffic and is unable to change the path to the pick up location
as it is a one-way street with no turning allowed. The rider being frustrated with the wait, decides
to call another Uber to get to their next location
 Commuters
o Ideal Description – Riders who use the Uber services to get to and from work on a regular basis.
They have the same origin and destinations for a majority of their trips and expects consistent
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pickup / dropoff experience in a timely manner. The rider would be picked up in a timely manner
and dropped off at their drop off point (at or near work) with no issues.
 Rider – The rider makes the usual Uber call to commute to work and is picked up by the
driver in a timely manner at the designated pick up spot that they have been using every
day. The rider is picked up my the driver and arrives at work in a timely manner. The rider
thanks the driver and they are both on their way.
 Driver – The driver sees a notification for another Uber Express Pool. The driver picks up
the rider (among others) at the designated Uber pick up location and drives to the
designated drop off location in a timely manner.
o Outcome 1 – The driver picks up all of the riders for the Uber pool and drops them all off in a
timely manner. The rider is able to get into the car and to their designated location without any
issues. The rider tips the driver as per usual and they are both on their way.
o Outcome 2 – The driver picks up the riders as usual but while driving to the designated drop off
location for the rider, there was suddenly an accident and therefore the driver had to take a
detour. In doing so, they arrive later than usual for than the designated original time. The rider is
late for work and is a bit annoyed. The rider in this case may leave a bad review or leave no tip for
the driver even though it was not their fault.
 Social
o Ideal Description – Rider uses Uber for social activities, usually late in the evening hours and on
weekends and travel in groups. They expect the drivers to essentially be at their beck and call (aka
pick them up at late hours and at busy venues with no issues during peek weekend hours)
 Rider – After a concert with friends, the riders decided to call for an Uber with the pick up
location being the venue where the concert is held. The time as of now is already close to
1 AM. There is a designated pick up location at this venue and the riders went thereto get
picked up. After seeing their driver / car, they got into the car and then was dropped off
at their designated location. (they all decided that the premium cost would be worth it as
it was late)
 Driver – The driver accepts the riders notification for pick up after a concert venue. The
driver knows there will be surge fees and decides to pick up the riders as there will be a
nice pay check for them. After waiting in que at the venue, they finally are able to pick up
their riders and drop them off at the designated location
o Outcome 1 – The riders are able to locate their driver and were able to get into the car and
dropped off at their designated location with no issues. Though the riders were a bit loud in the
car after the concert, the driver did not mind as the riders were paying a premium.
o Outcome 2 – The riders got into the Uber and as they were in the car, some of them threw up and
could not get the barf bag in time. This cause the Uber driver to pull over to make sure the riders
were okay and so they could clean themselves up. Unfortunately, the back seat was a mess and
smelled, no one was going to get back in. The driver review the riders poorly due to this event
and black list them. Driver then went to get the car clean asap without the passengers.
 Travelers
o Ideal Description – Riders use Uber at an airport of train station as part of a long distance travel
experience. The riders expect a timely and stress-free pick up at airports.
 Rider – After getting off the plane at the airport, the rider calls for an Uber. At this specific
airport, there is a designated pick up area for Uber Rider’s, so the rider goes and waits
there for the driver. Upon the driver arriving, the rider notices that the driver got out of
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the car and helps with the baggage. The rider gets into the car and gets to their
destination without any issues.
 Driver – Driver picks up the rider at the designated location at the airport. The driver gets
out of the car and helps the rider with all of the luggage. The driver then gets into the car
and goes to drop off the rider and the designated location. As the rider was on a flight,
the driver decided not to speak and let them rest.
o Outcome 1 – The rider was able to arrive at their destination with no issues. Upon getting out of
the Uber, the driver helps the rider with their baggage and the rider tips the driver well for their
services.
o Outcome 2 – The rider has a hard time finding the driver and was annoyed by the time they were
at the pick up location only to find out that the driver canceled on the rider because they did not
arrive within the allotted time. Not only that, the rider was charge a fee for that as well.
Annoyed, the rider complains to Uber when they had the chance and uses their competitor
instead (lyft)
1.1.3 Develop a list of hypotheses Uber could use to predict a rider's pickup location
with information such as the rider's previous trips and current destination, as
well as historical patterns related to the pickup location. Augment the case
information with your personal Uber experiences to suggest potential
hypotheses.
 Hypothesis 1 – Similar to google maps, uber should allow the rider and driver to be able to access all sorts
of views (like a street view). This would allow for better communication and coordination between the
rider and driver. This should help to compensate for the errors in the GPS location.
 Hypothesis 2 – Uber could use the riders past pickup location from previous trips and their destinations as
a component in the ML to predict a rider’s future pickup location an destination. This will come in handy
especially with commuters or frequent users of the service.
 Hypothesis 3 – This will build of on the user past pickup / drop off location for when riders are in buildings
with multiple streets crossing them. Uber can allow users to pin point where exactly they want to pick up
(e.g., pick which street they would like to be picked up on) and after “X” amount of times, it could be
suggested to the riders as the preferred pick up / drop off location.
1.1.4 Create a quantitative pickup quality metric using attributes derived from the
passive, active, and third-party signals available to Uber. Discuss why your
selected attributes represent a robust pickup quality metric. What weights
would you assign to the features you chose for your pickup model?
 Pickup Model = Minimize [( 10*Cancellation rate rider ) + (15*cancelation rate for driver) + (35% * contact
frequency between riders and drivers) + (30% * steps riders took to get to pick up location) + (10% *
Difference between original ETA Arrival vs Actual)]
 For the steps rider takes to pick up location and contact frequency between riders and drivers, they are
important part of the model. The few times that I used Uber, whenever I contact the driver is when there
tends to be an issue with the pick-up, which often results in the rider (me), walking further than I had to.
These two metrics should be used together and accounted for in the model.
 For the cancellation, this should be factored into the model because often more than not, either the rider
or driver cancels on one another for reasons. Though I would weight the driver’s cancellation more than
the rider in this case as if they were to cancel, it would cause more issues in my opinion.
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 As for the difference between the eta arrival vs actual, this would be an interesting thing to factor into the
model. As the time difference could be a huge issue. It could tell Uber whether there was an issue with
the route assigned or if the driver took a different route. It could also shows sign of traffic. Many factors
can be included into this.
1.1.5 Based on your pickup quality metric, what actions can Uber operators take to
improve the pickup experience?
 1) Rider should be guided to their pick-up location, similar to how drivers are guided to the rider if the
driver has stopped for “X” amount of time and the rider has yet to move. This will ensure that the driver
has already arrived and is waiting on the rider to come to the car. This would help sometimes in the case
of a language barrier (e.g., if the rider/ driver does not speak the same language). Furthermore, it would
improve the time it takes for the rider to get to the car if they did not know where to go. Which in turn
would make the rider less annoyed and improve their review of the driver / uber overall.
 2) Driver should get as close to the rider as possible. In cases where they are unable to do so because of a
gated community or other issues, they should allow the driver to indicate to the Rider that they would
need to come and meet them at “ x “ location.
1.1.6 How would you improve the pickup experience at venues such as sporting
events and concerts, which typically see temporary surges in demand for Uber
rides, as well as temporary parking restrictions and traffic congestion?
 At the time of this case, Uber did not particularly have a designated pick-up spot. Those could be made
temporary during venue experiences when they finishes by the owners of the venues. This would help tp
alleviate the congestion and allow for a smoother rider experience when trying to find an Uber.
1.1.7 Discuss the steps involved in setting up an ML model for automating pickups at
scale. Use the framework of the seven-step model in the case (Exhibit 7) to
elaborate on how Uber should apply this framework to the ML model. Hint: you
can create a table and list for the test under each step.
Business Analyst Leads Data Scientist Leads UX Leads
Define the Evaluate If Gather & Preprocess Select ML Engineer Make
business Machine Label Data data & define approach & Features & decisions &
problem to be Learning is features Algorithms Improve design user
solved appropriate model experiences
The problem that Gather rider / driver Data should be Ingest data from As there is a Determine what Trigger UX message
we are trying to data consisting of obtained from the sensors, users, and multitude of data, features will arise to customers /
solve would be how the information following: third parties we can use from this and see partners and
to properly base on the 1) All information supervised learning. how it will work in update UI and ap
automate picking proposed model in the Uber Ap. Clean data and However, we should the model once it once the model is
up riders at scale. algorithm. This would remove outlier also use has been added. done.
In this case, we will include reinforcement
use the Venue as This should be done conversation Define the objective learning as the ML Slowly improve the
the first step. for venues and between rider function which will build upon the model the more
areas close to and drivers, GPS would be what is growing data. data is gathered.
If this problem can venues (if it is in the information, and listed above.
be solved, it will city area) any other
help with relevant
congestion at All other data information
venues by cars and should be saved on 2) GPS data /
increase customer the side to google maps
satisfaction (which determine if they data if needed
in turn will see will be needed in
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revenue increase as the future.
customers will use
the service more(
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M4.

2 PRESENTATION: UBER: APPLYING

BIA-610 APPLIED ANALYTICS

1.1 UBER CASE QUESTION

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