In this episode, we explore how Uber tackled one of the most operationally challenging parts of its marketplace: airport pickups. Unlike normal city rides, airport demand is highly bursty, queue-driven, and heavily influenced by flight schedules, delays, and driver positioning decisions. To solve this, Uber built a coordinated forecasting system composed of three specialized models: Estimated Time to Request (ETR) to predict queue wait times, Earnings Per Hour (EPH) to estimate airport profitability versus city driving, and Driver Deficit Forecasting to proactively reposition supply before shortages occur. This allows the platform to reduce uncertainty, improve driver behavior, and stabilize airport marketplace dynamics in real time.

For more details, you can refer to their published tech blog, linked here for your reference: https://www.uber.com/blog/forecasting-models-to-improve-availability-at-airports