Every time you tap "Book Ride," a system makes dozens of decisions in under two seconds: Which driver? What route? What's the real ETA? This article breaks down exactly how the dispatch algorithm works — from the greedy approach that fails at scale, to the bipartite graphs, batched matching, and surge pricing mechanics that power Uber, Lyft, Grab, and Gojek today.
Why a Greedy Dispatch Algorithm Fails (Closest Driver Problem)
The first instinct when designing a matching system is to pair every customer with their nearest driver. However, this Greedy approach causes massive losses at a system-wide scale:
Example: 3 riders (R1, R2, R3) and 3 drivers (D1, D2, D3)
Greedy Matching (closest driver):
