Uber Has A New Feature That Will Make Pickups So Much Easier
No more crossing the street to get to your ride.
Uber is launching a new Side of the Street feature that’ll make your pickups so much easier. With the update, your driver will be able to see which side of the street you’re waiting on so there’s no mix-up. If you’re ready for a smoother pickup experience, here’s how to use Uber’s Side of the Street feature.
The new Side of Street feature, which Uber unveiled on June 9, is all about helping you say goodbye to some of the anxiety when finding your ride. All you’ll have to do is request a ride as usual in the Uber app, and your driver will now not only be able to see where you are on the map, but also which side of the street you’re on. Drivers will be able to see which side of the street the pickup location is through an icon at the top of their map, as well as with a pin that shows where it is on the route. Prior to the update, drivers could only see a pin that was placed in the middle of the street of the pickup location.
Uber is also improving your pickup experience with a few other updates. One way is by giving drivers more descriptions about the pickup location, such as using certain landmarks as reference points. For example, the driver will now see “Pickup near Starbucks at 100 Market St” instead of just “Pickup on 100 Market St.” If you requested a trip while at a different location than your pickup location, your driver will be able to see that you’re on the way — or that you’ve moved from your OG location — so that it’s easier to find you.
Of course, getting to your drop-off destination is also important, so Uber has some updates for the driver’s navigation experience. Uber Navigation will give drivers the options of two routes so that they can factor in both time and distance for the best possible route. The company is also in the process of improving its traffic-based rerouting. The feature will be able to anticipate traffic jams and give drivers a route that’s less congested. As a rider, you’ll still be able to track your ride in the app like before.
Since Uber will be rolling out its Side of Street feature to more drivers by the end of the year, you can look forward to enjoying a smoother pickup process soon.
