Uber Health’s Availability Predictor

The Availability Predictor feature uses machine learning to predict the likelihood of driver availability based on historical data. This is designed to give your organisation greater confidence when booking rides ahead of time using the Uber Health platform.

Our goal is to provide you with the information you need to make a decision to request a ride anywhere, at any time. The feature supports same day scheduled trips and is available in all markets where Uber Health operates.

The predictions are made while scheduling a trip.The machine learning model considers historical data such as the day of week, time of day, vehicle type (e.g. UberX or UberXL), location of the trip, and more. The model will keep getting better and may change.

• High availability (shown in green): Over 90% confidence in driver availability based on historical data
• Medium availability (shown in yellow): 70% and 90% confidence in driver availability based on historical data
• Limited availability (shown in red): Under 70% confidence in driver availability based on historical data

When requesting a ride on the Uber Health dashboard, you’ll see an availability prediction indicator in the “Vehicle type” menu. The indicator will show either High availability, Medium availability, or Limited availability.

Rides must be scheduled no more than 30 days in advance to generate a prediction. While the predictor will work for all scheduled rides, including same-day requests, it’s recommended to schedule rides at least 30 min in advance to maximise the accuracy of the prediction.

Because the Availability Predictor model is based on historical data and does not account for real-time considerations, you will only see predictions when scheduling rides. Predictions won’t be made for immediate or Reserve trips; only applies to scheduled rides.

For immediate rides, use the estimated driver arrival time provided for each ride option (for example, “in 5 minutes”) as an indicator of availability. That ETA will take into account current factors, like weather conditions, traffic, and more.

When the Availability Predictor is switched on for your organisation, Uber Health doesn’t block access to request rides in advance in areas that were previously restricted for reliability reasons.

Note: There will still be a few locations that are restricted aside from reliability reasons.

When requesting rides that show medium or limited availability, we suggest that you monitor the status of these trips closely. If the rider isn’t picked up, you can try requesting again or make other arrangements.