# Noticed something about the GPS system



## Alex Barnes (Apr 10, 2018)

Hi, everyone. I'll cut to the chase- If you've been driving for Uber for longer than a week, you'll know the GPS system that Uber uses sucks the fat one. Bad directions, weird 'shortcuts', etc.

I think I've figured out the weird shortcuts (or at least part of it).

A few weeks ago, I was dropping a couple of riders off at a concert at the AT&T center in San Antonio. The GPS wanted me to take a heavily congested road into the center, but I noticed on the map that there was a side street that would bypass most of it and cut about 10 mins off the trip. Took the shortcut, saved a lot of time, riders gave me a Expert Navigation badge, 5 stars, and a fat tip (on top of the nice Select fare). 

The next day (or week? Idk it all blurs together during the school semester) I was faced with a similar situation, minus the traffic. The GPS had me take the shortcut I took on the previous ride. 

Makes me wonder... Is the Uber GPS system integrating our homebrew shortcuts into its directions?


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## MHR (Jul 23, 2017)

I’ve noticed Google Maps, I don’t use Uber Nav, will route me with my preferred shortcuts after I ignore their directions a few times. I’ve never investigated but good to know I’m not the only one that has noticed this.


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## Uber_Dubler (Apr 4, 2018)

I would not be surprised. Machine Learning / Artificial Intelligence can be used smartly to improve efficiently. One ride probably wouldn't create a shortcut, but if were say the 99th out of 100 other trips that took the shortcut with success, that worked out that may have been the trigger.


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## crabby12 (Oct 16, 2018)

dear lord I m not the only one!


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## UberBeemer (Oct 23, 2015)

Not rely surprising. The browsers all use similar tech to make shopping suggestions or search suggestions based on your browser history. Clear your cache and cookies, and see what happens...


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## ANT 7 (Oct 14, 2018)

Yes it does integrate and learn from our driving patterns.

3K trips completed, and all the shortcuts and routes I preferred having lived here 30 years, are now in the algo.

There's nowhere to hide anymore........


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## Niagaran (Oct 4, 2018)

MHR said:


> I've noticed Google Maps, I don't use Uber Nav, will route me with my preferred shortcuts after I ignore their directions a few times. I've never investigated but good to know I'm not the only one that has noticed this.


I live parallel to a service road and have a shortcut street to get to it for highway access. I have used it dozens of times and Google *always* wants to take me to the main road, into traffic and a stop light, to get to the service road. It's not learning anything here.

My beef with GPS has been that, since I started a few weeks ago, it's *constantly* a little off: One house over, around the back of a corner house, sometimes even the street behind the house. I've had pax clearly a bit bothered but I show them the (wrong) address in the app. I think it has to do with the Rider app using lat/long instead of a street address and the Driver app making its own best guess. I'm trying to figure out if there's a quick way I can message the pax and say "The address given to me is ___. Please confirm."


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## LuxCarSpy (Jan 25, 2019)

Once you realize Uber is not a technology company but a matchmaker (logistics company) for riders and drivers. Look around, they use other’s technology to make it work. 
The problem is they have no quality control over most of the technology they use. The thought of using AI in route planning for drivers or autonomous vehicles is a fantasy they are selling Wall Street for bigger IPO dollars. Example- how many times have drivers not (couldn’t) use mapped alleys that won’t fit a car in some of America’s older cities or certain frontage vs bypass roads in newer areas. If Uber actually had route planning (for driving) these roads would be blacklisted from routing software. The reality, Uber routining is not focused on routing drivers but on being places to pick up more riders for when they get autonomous vehicles. It’s unlikely an ingenuous AI system and more likely a simple counting metrics type system ( think putting dors on map for each rider request and then set up maps to drive through area with most dots - that’s part of the fantasy scam their selling Wall Street of driverless cars and Pool -Pool Express)


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

Yes both Uber and Lyft learn from your driving. Here is an example. One place I pick up at often is just over a bridge. Originally the apps had me go over he bridge and make a u-turn and come back. I ignored it and just made a left turn into tho the driveway. After 2 or 3 times doing this on the Uber and Lyft app both they learned this turn left instead of making a u-turn and coming back.


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