Dive Brief:

• Starting today, Uber Freight drivers will be able to rate facilities where they pickup and drop off freight for amenities like wait time, parking and bathroom access within the Uber Freight app, according to a press release emailed to Supply Chain Dive. The ratings information will be rolled out to shippers in the coming weeks.
• The ratings are intended to inform shippers as to what drivers value most in a facility so shippers can make changes and better attract drivers to their loads. 
• In a two-month pilot, Uber Freight gathered ratings of more than 10,000 unique facilities.

Dive Insight:

A place to park, sleep and access to a clean bathroom may not seem like much to ask, but for truck drivers, these are key elements that make picking up or dropping off freight a more professional and respectful experience.

Detention times while drivers are waiting for a truck to be loaded at pick-up are also a major problem for carriers. In a 2018 Zipline Logistics survey of 150 carriers, 80% reported there are some shippers they simply refuse to pick up from for such reasons.

“To maintain a healthy, efficient supply chain, it’s key to prioritize carrier needs and feedback. The data that Uber Freight is providing with Facility Ratings in their platform is a great validator for making improvements to our operations, whether that means reorganizing personnel shifts or even moving to a bigger facility," said Robert Fisher, procurement manager for Nestle USA, in Uber's press release. 

A key difference between the rating's system for Uber's two lines of business — freight and rideshare — is Uber Freight's ratings are not a two-way street, which speaks to where the power sits in the carrier/shipper relationship.

In Uber rideshare, riders rate drivers for their performance and car cleanliness, but drivers can also rate riders for their behavior, informing both sides of future transactions. In Uber Freight's new ratings system,  drivers can rate facilities, but neither shippers nor receivers are able to rate drivers. Driver ratings are not currently in the plan since what shippers called for was the facility rating information in order to make improvements in their facilities, an Uber Freight spokesperson told Supply Chain Dive 

The desire to attract drivers to loads with facility comforts is yet more evidence that, especially when each load is selected individually, it is still a drivers' market.