Uber’s Perfect Matchings
https://www.uber.com/us/en/marketplace/matching/
Uber is a ridesharing app that matches riders to drivers in practically no time based on the location of the rider and the driver and the desired destination of the rider. The algorithm by which they do this is comparable to the perfect matching we discussed in class. Uber uses a matching algorithm called “batch matching” which essentially allows the app to link multiple riders and drivers at the same time. This ultimately saves time for both the driver and the rider as it allows the app to analyze possible matchings at once and come to the perfect matching much faster.
This is related to what we learned in class as it shows how perfect matchings are found in real life scenarios. In class we talked about how it takes multiple rounds of matchings to find the perfect matching and the process by which a perfect match with market clearing prices is found. In this case, Uber uses computations to find the perfect matching much in the same way we learned in class but much faster. Uber even claims that by using this method, they are able to save 10 years of everybody’s time by maximizing earning time and minimizing wait time.