Uber Freight brings new carrier protections to bundled loads

As the world recovers from an unexpected 2020, freight has kept moving. At Uber Freight, regardless of market conditions, we’ve always been committed to creating a frictionless marketplace experience for shippers and carriers. Our platform helps carriers maximize their time on the road and helps shippers efficiently source capacity from our growing network of trusted carriers. Since we introduced load bundles in 2019, the number of loads booked in bundles has grown 10x, and our understanding of carrier needs has grown exponentially too. Today we’re introducing new features to encourage worry-free booking and to maximize weekly load and earnings opportunities for carriers.

Introducing bundle cancellation protection

Keeping the tires turning and maximizing time on the road often means booking loads back to back. Appointment reschedules and cancellations, plus traffic and mechanical issues, are just a few examples of the challenges drivers face in keeping their schedules intact. Uber Freight uses an algorithm to dynamically build bundles, optimizing for the lowest amount of deadhead miles. It also uses data inputs including Facility Insights to exclude loads coming from facilities that tend to have higher cancellation rates and longer wait times. 

To give carriers even more peace of mind, we’re introducing bundle cancellation protection. If carriers need to cancel a bundle due to challenges outside of their control—such as a customer cancellation on one of the loads or a facility delay on a previous load—they’ll be able to do so with no penalty to their carrier scorecard. Carriers will then be automatically offered a rebook option to complete their bundle and keep moving.  

Optimized one-day local trip bundles

In select locations, carriers will also be able to benefit from a new type of bundle: one-day local trips. Carriers looking to book a full day’s work will be able to find bundled loads that start and end on the same day, optimized to maximize utilization and reduce empty miles. One-day bundles will help keep carriers close to their preferred region, with the option to finish within 100 miles of the original pickup. The result is a win for carriers and shippers: while carriers can tap into optimized earnings opportunities within Uber Freight’s load network, shippers can benefit by locking in high-quality coverage.

Over the next few months, both of these features—and more—will also be made available for our web users.