Uber’s CEO says this is the most common reason drivers cancel on customers

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the prime culprit behind driver cancellations are trips to undesired destinations. 

In an interview with “CBS Mornings” on Thursday, Khosrowshahi said driver cancellations were more prevalent when drivers were unaware of the intended destination.  

“That’s the most common reason for cancellation. It’s a destination that they didn’t want to go to,” said Khosrowshahi. 

The ability to know the destination before accepting a ride was the most requested feature by drivers, he said. Uber introduced the option for upfront destination disclosure to reduce cancellations resulting from reluctance to travel to specific locations. 

Due to regulations pertaining to fares in New York City, however, the upfront destination feature is not available to drivers there, he said. But the feature is accessible across other parts of the country. 

Khosrowshahi revealed plans to leverage artificial intelligence to improve the company’s services and create more personalized and human-like interactions with users. He said that while Uber already uses AI for calculating estimated arrival times and offering service selections, the emergence of a new generation of AI, known as generative AI, will revolutionize Uber’s approach to user interactions by creating a more human experience. 

“I think in a funny way, AI is going to allow Uber to be more human in our interactions with you. All of the communications are going to be much more personalized,” Khosrowshahi said. “Right now, the communications are standard. … There’s a bit of personalization. The next generation AI is going to create a personal relationship between Uber and you.”