Uber's CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, secretly signed up as a driver in September 2020 to better understand the driver experience amid a slowdown in recruitment. He encountered several operational issues that discouraged drivers and found that some passengers were rude and acted like they were alone in the car. Khosrowshahi's moonlighting was part of a bigger operation called "Project Boomerang" that aimed to get more drivers back on the app. The findings prompted Uber to create a single sign-up for both rides and deliveries, to allow drivers to see drop-off locations before pick-up, and to give drivers hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi spent several months as an undercover driver to understand the experiences of drivers during the pandemic. His experience led to the implementation of several changes to the ride-hailing app, including addressing issues such as tip-baiting and punishing drivers for rejecting rides. The campaign, called Project Boomerang, helped shape one of the biggest makeovers of Uber's business since its inception in 2009. As a result, Uber's ride-share revenue more than doubled in 2022, and the company posted its first full-year adjusted profit since its founding.
Uber's CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, became an undercover driver to understand the driver experience and found that some passengers were rude and acted like they were alone in the car. He also encountered issues that discouraged drivers. Khosrowshahi's moonlighting was part of a bigger operation called "Project Boomerang" that aimed to get more drivers back on the app. The findings prompted Uber to create a single sign-up for both rides and deliveries, to allow drivers to see drop-off locations before pick-up, and to give drivers hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses.
