The IT Nerd

As the back-to-school shopping season ramps up, budget-conscious students now have a new way to save on rides and other essentials. Just in time for the fall semester, Uber is launching Uber One for Students in Canada, a special discounted version of our Uber One membership program. 

Whether they’re heading to an early-morning lecture or fueling a late-night study session, postsecondary students can now enjoy significant savings on rides and Uber Eats deliveries within their campus communities and wherever Uber and Uber Eats are available. 

Here are the key membership benefits: 

• Free Trial: Students who have never used Uber One can try Uber One for Students for free for their first four weeks
• Membership Cost: $4.99/month (50% off regular price) 
• Delivery Perks: $0 Delivery Fee on eligible food ($15+ basket), groceries ($40+ basket) and more plus 5% off eligible deliveries and pick up orders  
• Cashback: Earn 5% Uber Cash on eligible rides
• Top-Rated Drivers: Only ride with top-rated drivers 

Uber also got students covered with their own exclusive deals to keep them fueled and focused:

• Dominos 🍕: 10% off every order and score a free order of Parmesan Bread Bites on Wednesdays with orders over $25
• Starbucks ☕: 10% off coffee runs, in addition to $0 Delivery Fee and 5% off Uber One Benefit
• Osmow’s 🥙: 5% off their Osmow’s orders (of $15+) and get a free order of Falafel on Monday’s on orders of $15+
• Mary Brown’s🍗: 5% off their Mary Brown’s orders (of $15+) and get a free Big Mary on Tuesday’s on orders of $15+

Uber Freight, the leading end-to-end enterprise suite powering intelligent logistics, today announced growth in the Canadian market, propelled by its innovative collaborative shipping model. Since 2021, Uber Freight’s engineered Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) network has expanded by 50%, contributing significantly to the company’s overall Canadian market growth. This translates to approximately $800M (CAD) in total freight under management (FUM).

Uber Freight’s multi-stop LTL network moves more than 10,000 pallets out of the Greater Toronto Area per week, with over 4,500 pallets transported southbound into the United States. By combining shipments from multiple shippers into optimized, multi-stop routes, Uber Freight reduces unnecessary stops and improves overall shipment performance.

Enhancing Cost-Efficiency and Reliability

Traditional LTL shipping often faces challenges such as rate increases and added terminal stops for load sorting and consolidation, impacting on-time performance and cost-effectiveness. Uber Freight’s approach eliminates these extra steps by leveraging its scale and marketplace technology to consolidate shipments based on load size, type, and destination. This streamlines pickup and drop-off processes, resulting in a 95-97% on-time performance (OTP) and saving shippers an average of 10-20% compared to traditional LTL methods.

Real-World Impact

Shippers can manage their LTL loads directly within the Uber Freight Transportation Management System (TMS) for best-in-class freight planning, visibility, and execution, and have access to an expansive pool of domestic and cross-border carriers. Furthermore, Uber Freight’s carrier network supports a variety of goods, including food-grade, chilled, ambient, and frozen LTL shipments.

Uber Freight carriers benefit from an optimal combination of shipments, advanced routing technology, and demand from Uber Freight’s extensive network of shippers. This ensures seamless coordination of backhaul loads, maximizing revenue in both directions.

Pioneering a New Standard in Logistics

Uber Freight is setting a new benchmark in supply chain technology and service, leveraging innovative logistics tools and domain expertise to meet the evolving needs of shippers and carriers. Today, major Canadian-based companies like Bimbo Bakehouse, Dr. Oetker, and Furlani Foods depend on Uber Freight’s collaborative shipping model to move goods across Canada and the United States. With more than $18 billion in global FUM, Uber Freight continues to expand its footprint across North America, committed to delivering industry-leading solutions to shippers and carriers of all sizes.

To get started with Uber Freight LTL, visit https://www.uberfreight.com/carrier-network/ltl-freight.

Seat belts save lives and wearing them is the most effective way for Canadians to protect themselves during a collision. 

Yet 45% of riders indicate that they don’t always buckle up when they take a trip with Uber. According to Transport Canada, 300 lives can be saved every year if everyone wore seat belts. Seat belts worn correctly can reduce the chance of death in a collision by 47% and the chances of serious injury by 52%. 

That’s why Uber wants to remind riders to buckle up by launching a brand new safety feature across the country tomorrow—audio seat belt reminders. 

Here’s how it works:

• Once a rider’s trip has started, an audio reminder stating “Please use your seat belt for your safety” will play on the driver’s phone shortly after the start of the trip.
• At the same time, the rider will receive a push notification on their phone, reminding them to put their seat belt on.  
• This feature will be enabled on a rider’s first trip once it is launched. After that, it will be enabled every 10th trip. 

Here’s a video of this feature in action:

And here’s the audio reminder:

Uber’s message is simple—no matter where you’re seated in the vehicle, you always need to buckle up. Whether you are going a few blocks, a few kilometres or a long distance trip, your seat belt must be worn at all times. Using Uber’s technology to remind riders to buckle up, they hope to increase seat belt use and potentially save lives. 

Buckling up could even affect your Uber rating. Drivers have shared that not buckling up is one of the reasons they may rate riders less than five stars. Through this feature and raising awareness about seat belt safety, Uber wants to help protect both drivers and riders on the road. 

The Uber platform is built with safety in mind. For a list of all their safety features, please visit here. 

Did you lose your Santa costume riding with Uber? Because someone did…

On the heels of the total solar eclipse, Mercury is heading into Retrograde, ushering in a period of cosmic chaos that astrologists say increases forgetfulness. Naturally, we’re back with the eighth annual Uber Lost & Found Index, revealing the most surprising and most popular items left behind by riders over the past year. 

Vapes, phones and bags made the list of the most commonly forgotten items this year, but riders aren’t just leaving their everyday essentials behind – they’re forgetting everything from amethyst crystals to gold dentures to a segway – and that’s just to name a few. 

And ever wonder what the most popular days are for losing stuff? On the mornings after major partying holidays, we see an uptick in items lost on Uber rides home. The two most “forgetful” days this past year were New Year’s Day 2024 and Halloween weekend 2023 (October 29, 2023). When the party’s over, it seems Canadians leave more than just the memories behind.

Here’s Uber’s full 2024 Lost & Found Index, along with easy instructions on how Canadians can retrieve lost items.

Top 10 most forgetful cities across Canada

1. Montreal
2. Saskatoon
3. Winnipeg
4. Kingston
5. Vancouver
6. Hamilton
7. Toronto
8. Regina
9. Edmonton
10. Niagara Region

Top 10 most commonly forgotten items across Canada 

1. Article of clothing 
2. Backpack or bag 
3. Headphones
4. Jewellery / watch / make-up
5. Wallet / purse
6. Phone / camera
7. Vape / e-cig
8. Umbrella
9. Laptop
10. Watch

The most forgetful day and time in Canada 

• New Year’s Day – 2024-01-01 
• Halloween weekend – 2023-10-29 

The 10 most unique items lost across Canada (item and city) 

• My girlfriend’s designer heels – Toronto 
• Fishing rod – Vancouver 
• Green arm cast – Winnipeg
• Two amethyst crystals – Ottawa
• Crocs with a “Proud to Serve” jibbitz – London, ON
• Deep fryer – Edmonton
• Japanese chef’s knife – Edmonton
• A segway – Toronto
• Gold dentures – Toronto
• Santa costume – Calgary

The 10 most commonly forgotten items in Toronto 

1. Article of clothing 
2. Backpack or bag 
3. Headphones
4. jewelry
5. wallet / purse
6. phone
7. laptop
8. vape / e-cig
9. watch
10. groceries

If you’re one of those people who left something behind, look no further than this help page, which outlines the simple steps you can take the next time you leave something behind when riding with Uber. 

The best way to retrieve a lost item is to call the driver – but if you leave your phone itself in your car, you can login to your account on a computer. Please note there is a $20 fee to get your items returned, and that fee goes entirely to the driver because of the inconvenience of returning the item.

Here’s what to do:

1. Tap “Your Trips” and select the trip where you left something
2. Scroll down and tap “Find lost item”
3. Tap “Contact driver about a lost item”
4. Scroll down and enter the phone number you would like to be contacted at. Tap submit.
5. If you lost your personal phone, enter a friend’s phone number instead (you can do this by logging into your account on a computer, or using a friend’s phone).
6. Your phone will ring and connect you directly with your driver’s mobile number.
7. If your driver picks up and confirms that your item has been found, coordinate a mutually convenient time and place to meet for its return to you.
8. If your driver doesn’t pick up, leave a detailed voicemail describing your item and the best way to contact you.

Starting today, Uber will begin giving riders across Canada even more control over their on-trip experience, especially at night.

Whether it’s drinks with friends, a sports game, or a first date, going out at night should be fun and safe. 81% of riders say safety is an important reason why they choose to ride with Uber. With today’s new feature, riders are in control. 

Today Uber is launching safety preferences, a new one-stop destination in the app where riders can set and forget a bundle of safety features. Features can be customized to automatically turn on based on:

• Time of day — like for every ride after 9pm, or only on weekends
• Location — within 50 meters of a bar or restaurant
• Or for every trip

Safety features riders can schedule include:

• Audio Recording: Riders can record audio during a trip, and send us a recording if something goes wrong. All audio recordings are encrypted and stored securely on the rider’s device. Their recording will be locked, and no one—not the driver, not Uber, not the rider—has access to it. Uber can only access the recording if the rider reports a safety incident and chooses to share the recording with Uber. 
• PIN verification: Riders have the option to receive a four-digit PIN code to provide to a driver before the trip can begin. This helps ensure you’re getting into the right car. 
• RideCheck: RideCheck helps detect if a ride goes off-course, stops unexpectedly, or ends early and sends an in-app check-in. With safety preferences riders can choose to receive check-ins more frequently. When this happens we will check-in to ask if everything is ok and offer resources to help. 
• Share My Trip: Riders can automatically share their live location and trip details with a friend or family member. This can now be automated for every trip, or only after a certain hour or when leaving a bar and restaurant. 

There are two different ways to set it up:

• In the Account tab, scroll down and tap “Settings”, and then “Safety preferences”
• While on a trip, tap the Safety Toolkit blue shield, and then tap “Set up safety preferences”

For the third year in a row, Uber is releasing data on rider ratings across the country, revealing which Canadian cities win the bragging rights for having Canada’s top riders. 

A stellar rating is the ultimate badge of honour—it’s a testament to a rider’s efforts to always be punctual, polite, organized and respectful, the keys to a smooth and positive ride experience. 

This year, riders across Canada took the ratings race seriously, displaying the drive needed to score high. Red Deer won the coveted title for having the country’s top-rated riders; it’s also the third year in a row that Red Deer has placed in the top three cities. 

After lagging behind in previous years, riders in Windsor, Saskatoon, and Kingston accelerated into the top 5 cities with the highest rider ratings, while Halifax dropped two spots down from last year. 

Check out the full lists below, showcasing the top 10 Canadian cities with the highest average rider rating and the top 10 with the lowest rider ratings. For the first time, Uber is also sharing a list of the top 10 most-improved cities, celebrating the cities that made the biggest gains in improving their ratings. 

To encourage good rider etiquette, Uber is celebrating this year’s top Canadian riders by awarding an exclusive 20% discount on their next ride to the top 10% of riders based on their trip rating in 2023. The offer is valid for two weeks. 

*The data is weighted to account for population differences. 

🏆Top 10 cities with the highest rider ratings

1. Red Deer 
2. Windsor 
3. Saskatoon 
4. Winnipeg
5. Kingston 
6. Regina 
7. Halifax
8. Kelowna 
9. Niagara Region 
10. Victoria
    

💪Top 10 cities with the most improved rider ratings 

1. Windsor 
2. Kitchener-Waterloo
3. Lethbridge 
4. London, ON 
5. Red Deer 
6. Edmonton 
7. Regina 
8. Saskatoon 
9. Halifax
10. Ottawa

Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal remain in the top three cities with the lowest rider ratings. For riders in those cities, here are some tips on how to improve your ratings: 

1. Pack it in, pack it out: Drivers shouldn’t have to clean up after your mess. Always make sure to take your trash and any other belongings with you. Don’t leave a mess behind. 
2. Buckle Up: Studies show that unbuckled passengers in the back seat can put the driver at greater risk of injury in a crash. So always remember to buckle up for your and the driver’s safety. 
3. Be ready: Remember that drivers’ time is valuable and they shouldn’t have to wait for you. A smooth pickup is better for everyone so be ready to go when the driver arrives.
4. Treat everyone and everything with respect: As outlined in Uber’s Community Guidelines, they want riders and drivers to feel safe, respectful, and positive. Always treat your driver and their vehicle as you would want to be treated. 
5. Don’t slam the door! It is easy to accidentally slam a door if you aren’t thinking about it, and drivers have consistently cited door slams as a reason why they deduct stars.   

For step-by-step instructions on how to find your ratings breakdown, check out the blog post. 

To access the Privacy Center and ratings breakdown in the app:

• In the settings menu, tap privacy and then Privacy Center
• In the Privacy Center, swipe to the right and click on the “would you like to see a summary of how you use Uber” tile
• Scroll down to the “browse your data” section and tap on “View my ratings” to see the breakdown

Starting today, Uber is introducing the Emission Savings feature in the Uber app, so riders around the world can track and learn more about their carbon emissions impact. 

Uber believes that knowledge is power. Just like they popularized rider ratings in an effort to promote respectful behaviour during Uber rides, Uber is excited to launch this new feature to both celebrate your impact and encourage greener choices when using Uber.

With the Emission Savings feature, you can: 

• Tap a button, see your impact: In the Account section of the Uber app, tap “Estimated CO2saved” to see all of the emissions you’ve saved by taking Uber Green and Uber Comfort Electric.
• Make sense of your savings: Riders tell Uber it would be helpful to see examples of how their emission savings add up. So, they’ve included a graphic that shows what your CO2 emission savings are comparable to. 
• See how your emissions are calculated: The emission savings for an Uber Green or Uber Comfort Electric trip represents the estimated amount of CO2 emissions avoided, on average, when a rider takes Uber Green instead of an UberX or when a rider takes Uber Comfort Electric instead of an Uber Comfort trip of the same distance. See here to read more on the methodology. 
• Get teens going green: Among Gen Alpha and Gen Z, Uber knows that the environment is their top cause. That’s why they’re also making the Emission Savings feature available for Uber teen account holders. And starting today in select cities throughout the US & Canada, they’re launching Uber Green and Uber Comfort Electric for teen riders, providing them with a way to be part of the climate solution when they ride. 
• See a greener future: In the future, Uber plans to include even more products in your emission savings calculation including all-electric autonomous rides, trips with UberX Share, and rides on e-bikes and e-scooters booked in the Uber app.

Uber is committed to become a zero-emissions mobility platform and today is an important step in their journey to help inform riders about the estimated emissions they’ve saved and the positive impact they’re making in their communities.

Uber is announcing that drivers on Uber in Canada with an Android device will now have the ability to use the Uber app directly from their dashboard while using Android Auto. It’s currently being rolled out across the country and all Android drivers will have access by the end of April. 

This means drivers will be able to see demand heatmaps, accept trips, and view navigation right from the dashboard screen in their car.

Uber’s goal is to be the best platform for flexible work in the world, and they’re excited to add support for Android Auto to make using the Uber app on Android even more comfortable, convenient for drivers, and a hassle-free experience. 

This follows the successful rollout of CarPlay integration for the Uber driver app on iPhone last summer. 

Following a busy holiday season, many health-conscious Canadians embraced the modern tradition of Dry January, starting the year off right with an alcohol-free month. With January ending and Fall Off February on the horizon, Uber is sharing a snapshot of how Canadians observed the dry challenge to provide some inspiration for maintaining the momentum. 

Uber data trends highlight the Canadian cities that consumed the least amount of alcohol, the cities most inclined to swap their nights out for nights in and the “types” of alcohol drinkers who cut back the most. Uber is also identifying the cities that embraced their wellness era this January, trading those December sweet treats for some healthy eats in 2024.

Check out the healthy highlights:

• 😴Protecting our peace – (Top 10 cities that took the least amount of late-night Uber rides): After the clock struck midnight on January 1, many Canadians traded in their dancing shoes for slippers, taking a break from the late-night partying. Ottawa residents were in bed nice and early in January, with the fewest late night rides, followed by Edmonton and Toronto.
• 🤩No hangover, no problem – (Top 10 cities that ordered the least amount of alcohol and Top 10 cities that ordered the most mocktails): Taking a break from booze seems to be at the top of everyone’s resolution list this year. The city that stayed the driest in January was Winnipeg and the city that ordered the most mocktails was Regina.
• 🚰You’re fine without wine – (Type of alcohol drinkers who commit the most to Dry-January): Wine Moms, Beer Bros and Liquor Connoisseurs went head-to-head this month over who could cut back the most. Wine drinkers came out on top, with the greatest decrease from December 2023 to January 2024, followed by beer and then liquor.
• 🧃Blame it on the juice – (Top 10 cities that ordered the most juice cleanses or smoothies): Who said liquid courage had to be alcoholic? This year many Canadians turned to juice cleanses and smoothies to give them a boost of confidence with that healthy glow. Vancouver, Toronto and Saskatoon ordered the most smoothies and juice cleanses of any other Canadian cities in January.
• 🫀It’s giving health – (Top 10 cities ordering the most from the “healthy” category): The post-holiday turkey tummy hits hard in the new year, but many Canadians were determined to go from turkeyed-out to toned with healthier food choices. This January Niagara Region residents got right to work, with the most orders of food from the healthy category.
• 🥗January? More like Veganuary – (Top 10 cities that ordered the most from vegan restaurants): Meat is OUT and veggies are IN for 2024. Canadians leaned into the Veganuary trend this year, ditching the meat and doubling down on the fruits, veggies and meat alternatives. Edmonton, Victoria and Ottawa lead the pack, with the most orders from vegan restaurants. 
• 🏋️Let’s get physical – (Top 10 cities that ordered the most fitness items): To avoid the January gym crowd, Canadians stocked up on fitness items for their at-home workouts. Saskatoon, Edmonton and Winnipeg got their sweat on the most, with the most amount of fitness orders.

See below for the full Dry January data insights. Starting with a graphic illustrating the volume of alcohol orders on Uber Eats from July 2023 to January 2024, highlighting the rise of orders over the holidays and decline in the New Year. 

*** Data is weighted to control for population differences between cities. 

Top 10 cities that ordered the least amount of alcohol in January 2024 

1. Winnipeg
2. Victoria
3. Windsor
4. Toronto
5. Calgary
6. Hamilton
7. Vancouver
8. Kitchener-Waterloo
9. Ottawa
10. Niagara Region

Top 10 cities that ordered the most mocktails in January 2024

1. Regina
2. Edmonton
3. Red Deer
4. Calgary 
5. North Bay 
6. Vancouver 
7. Toronto
8. Belleville
9. Hamilton
10. Winnipeg

Type of alcohol drinkers commit the most to Dry-January (Beer, vs Wine, vs Liquor, which category saw the biggest declines)

1. Wine
2. Beer 
3. Liquor

Top 10 cities that ordered the most juice cleanses or smoothies in January 2024 

1. Vancouver
2. Toronto
3. Saskatoon
4. Hamilton
5. London, Ont
6. Edmonton
7. Ottawa
8. Thunder Bay
9. Calgary
10. Kitchener-Waterloo

Top 10 cities that ordered the most from vegan restaurants in January 2024

1. Edmonton
2. Victoria
3. Ottawa
4. Calgary
5. Vancouver
6. Toronto
7. Hamilton
8. Halifax
9. Kelowna
10. Niagara Region

Top 10 cities that took the least amount of late night Uber rides (between 9pm and 2 am) in January 2024

1. Ottawa
2. Edmonton
3. Toronto
4. Calgary
5. Regina
6. Hamilton
7. Winnipeg
8. Vancouver
9. Saskatoon
10. Montreal

Top 10 cities ordering the most from the “healthy” category in January 2024

1. Niagara Region
2. London
3. Kitchener/Waterloo
4. Halifax
5. Hamilton
6. Winnipeg
7. Ottawa
8. Calgary
9. Toronto
10. Vancouver

Top 10 cities ordering the most fitness items in January 2024

1. Saskatoon
2. Edmonton
3. Winnipeg
4. Calgary
5. Vancouver
6. London, Ont.
7. Ottawa
8. Hamilton
9. Toronto
10. Kitchener-Waterloo