An app that says it can help Uber drivers pick profitable rides has arrived in the US. Uber has fought against it before.

An app launching successful the US connected Wednesday has drawn ire from Uber successful the past aft helping gig workers reply a cardinal question: Which rides and deliveries marque the astir fiscal consciousness to take?

GigU uses accusation that independent contractors spot on-screen erstwhile they are offered a gig to cipher an estimation of however overmuch the idiosyncratic volition gain per mile and astatine an hourly rate.

The feature, which GigU calls the "cherry picker," is designed to assistance drivers and transportation workers judge oregon cull a occupation wrong the seconds-long model that astir apps springiness them, its founders say. The app works with lone Android phones for now.

"They thin to judge it all," Luiz Gustavo Neves, GigU's CEO and co-founder, said successful an interrogation with Business Insider.

Factors similar the rising outgo of car attraction mean that gig workers "need to beryllium much alert to which rides are profitable and which ones are not," helium added.

GigU is 1 of aggregate third-party apps that accidental they springiness gig workers much accusation — and perchance assistance them gain more. Many gig workers saw their earnings connected apps similar Uber and Instacart autumn successful 2024 contempt spending a akin oregon greater magnitude of clip connected the platforms, a survey by information analytics institution Gridwise earlier this twelvemonth found.

In GigU, users tin acceptable circumstantial ranges for wage and, for ride-hailing gigs, rider ratings. Based connected those settings, GigU assigns a colour to orders oregon rides arsenic they popular up connected screen: Green for a occupation that would beryllium the astir lucrative for the driver, yellowish for options with net that mostly autumn betwixt the ranges that users set, and reddish for a occupation that doesn't conscionable their goals.

How trips connected Uber look to GigU users GigU

The interest of declining wage was 1 crushed that Neves and Pedro Inada, GigU's different co-founder, started creating businesses catered to gig workers.

Inada and Neves founded StopClub successful Brazil arsenic a pit-stop wherever gig workers successful Brazil could get a wound to devour and person their car cleaned, they said successful an interrogation with BI. When the pandemic started, they launched an app for workers who couldn't stitchery successful person.

In 2023, they added a forerunner of the cherry picker relation that GigU offers. The thought came from 1 of the app's users, Inada said.

"He said, look, we truly person to prime the rides," Inada said. "Driver wage hasn't gone up. Inflation is up. Could you guys physique thing that would assistance america take the champion offers?"

GigU said it has raised astir $5 cardinal successful effect funding, portion of which volition bankroll its US expansion.

GigU says that its app tin analyse accusation from aggregate gig-work apps, including Uber, Uber Eats, Lyft, and DoorDash.

However, GigU doesn't person relationships with those companies, and the cofounders ended up successful a ineligible conflict with Uber successful 2023 implicit the akin diagnostic successful StopClub's app successful Brazil.

Uber Brazil said that the app violated section copyright and contention laws and illegally obtained and stored confidential information from the Uber app, tech quality tract Rest of World reported at the time. A tribunal successful Brazil decided successful favour of GigU and allowed the app to stand.

An Uber spokesperson said that "using automation tools, apps, oregon bots to manipulate the Uber app oregon entree Uber information successful immoderate mode isn't allowed" per its assemblage guidelines and presumption of service. Uber is inactive "engaged connected the ineligible beforehand successful Brazil" with GigU and StopClub, the spokesperson added.

DoorDash and Lyft did not respond to requests for remark from BI.

GigU's founders accidental that their app simply takes accusation that the gig idiosyncratic already sees and presents it successful a much analytical context. From there, it's up to the gig idiosyncratic to marque a choice, they said.

The app doesn't judge jobs connected behalf of the workers oregon spoof their GPS location, Neves added. Other third-party apps, known among gig workers arsenic "bots," are susceptible of those kinds of tasks.

"We had users asking america to bash that benignant of worldly arsenic well," Neves said. "We said, no, we're not going to bash that, due to the fact that that is wrong."

"We conscionable springiness them transparency," helium added.

Having that transparency tin marque a quality for gig workers served a travel oregon bid portion successful the mediate of completing one, said Len Sherman, an enforcement successful residence and adjunct prof astatine Columbia Business School.

For the gig worker, "it's strategy overload," Sherman told BI successful an interview.

"He's inactive got a passenger, he's trying to fig retired however to decorativeness the trip, thing pings up, it's a distraction," helium said. "By and large, they're accepting these trips, which is wherefore Uber tin support the terms down."

Do you person a communicative to stock astir gig work? Contact this newsman astatine abitter@businessinsider.com oregon 808-854-4501.