Uber Freight is bringing a feature from the Uber ridesharing app to its freight app: ratings. When Uber introduced ratings to its rideshare platform, it changed the transportation industry for consumers and drivers.
Uber Freight is bringing that same power to the trucking industry with the introduction of Facility Ratings, according to a blog post on its website. A new function within the Uber Freight app, Facility Ratings gives carriers and their drivers the opportunity to share honest feedback about the facilities they visit and gives shippers the insights they need to act on it.
Facilities are where truck drivers go every day to pick-up and drop-off their freight shipments, and often where they spend the night after a long day of driving. Driver pain points like detention time, bathroom access, and parking availability, are all factors that either incentivize or discourage drivers from choosing loads at a given facility. These issues are more important than many realize. According to one survey, 80% of carrier respondents absolutely refused to take loads from certain facilities, especially those with reputations for lengthy detention times — which the US DOT estimated costs truckers around $1.1 to $1.3 billion in earnings each year.
While drivers spend time at facilities every day, they don’t often have the opportunity to share their experience with those who have the power to improve it. Facility Ratings allows carriers and their drivers to rate facilities on a scale of 1 to 5 and leave honest written feedback. These ratings are available to all Uber Freight users, along with details about the facility’s amenities. For example, when drivers are deciding whether or not to book a load, information about the facility — amenities like bathrooms, parking, on-site scales, and food options — will be available at their fingertips.
With dynamic, actionable feedback gathered from those drivers, Uber Freight says that Facility Ratings elevates the level of communication and collaboration possible across the entire freight industry. This level of feedback better informs the entire industry and helps carriers ensure that they always choose the right load for their needs.
For shippers, each facility is a critical piece of their overall supply chain operations. Those supply chains are often large, complex, and fragmented, so it can be extremely difficult for shippers to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement at individual facilities.
With Facility Ratings, shippers can see precisely where and how to improve their facilities. Facility Ratings are built into the shipper platform and provide data to enable shippers to both quantitatively and qualitatively assess a facility based on direct feedback from drivers. This data allows them to identify areas of improvement and, if needed, make changes to increase the overall functionality, favorability, and efficiency of their business.
By giving drivers the opportunity to share feedback on their experience and giving shippers the ability to use that data to address pain points and inefficiencies, Uber Freight says that Facility Ratings will help create a more transparent, collaborative environment — both now and in the future — for the entire logistics industry. A future where shippers and carriers can work more closely together, and everybody benefits.
Facility Ratings is available to all users in the carrier app since last week, and will roll out to all shippers via the shipper platform in the coming weeks.
