During the design process of any website or app decisions must be made about how best to optimise the user experience. This investigation by Vice looks at how the hugely popular app Uber seemingly made decisions about how to represent the availability of cars. Fascinating stuff:
When Heather*, a driver who has been working for Uber for about eight months, opened up the passenger app a few weeks ago from her residence, she noticed something peculiar. The app’s map showed four drivers on the streets immediately by her pick-up location. Yet, the estimated wait time for the closest car was 17 minutes, and there were no other drivers in sight.
There are two versions of Uber’s app: one for drivers to use to find passengers, and one for passengers to use to hail a ride. Frequently, drivers login to the passenger app to see where other drivers are so they don’t sit unknowingly in the same one-mile stretch as the competition.
What the passenger app shows can be deceptive, however. The discrepancy Heather noticed wouldn’t have been obvious in a busy location with a shorter wait time. But in more remote areas, the app clearly shows drivers where there are none.
