Uber's New Policy Fines Riders Who Are Two Minutes Late

Uber says it has revised some of its policies to better compensate its drivers. As part of which, the company is testing charging customers a fee if they make a driver wait for more than two minutes (current waiting time is five minutes). Furthermore, the taxi aggregator says it is changing the ride cancellation grace period from five minutes to two minutes, adding that the fees can range from $5 to $10, depending on your city. Our very own Logan Abbott aka Whipslash faced this issue today. Though he tells us that the company refunded his money after he emailed and filed a complaint. The Verge reports:The feature was built in response to drivers' complaints about waiting for passengers, Uber said. In a statement released to The Verge and TechCrunch, Uber noted that these updated terms would ensure that "the whole system runs more smoothly and the Uber experience improves for everyone." Reduced wait times and the ability to charge for idle time, as well as compensation if riders cancel after two minutes, obviously benefit drivers, earning them a few extra dollars and allowing them to move onto the next fare sooner. But how this will make the passenger experience smoother is unclear. Traffic, wrong turns, and faulty GPS all contribute to making pick-up times unreliable. This can leave passengers out in the cold, waiting for drivers to arrive. Uber explained that if a driver is more than five minutes late for an estimated arrival, users can cancel the ride with no penalty.

Comments

What is Uber, a CAB COMPANY?

[Frosty Piss]

$5 to $10 for being a few minutes late? Yeah... No.

I'll call a cab or maybe Lyft...

Re:What is Uber, a CAB COMPANY?

[rupert.applin]

It's fair enough too - you can't expect people to wait for you, without some level of charge, when you've booked them for a certain time - if you knew you were going to be late, then you should book the ride for a later time. Two minutes should be ample to exit the house/foyer of the building to where the ride is waiting. Whereas giving a little more grace period to the driver is fairer as there are things outside their control with regard to getting to your location on time - they can't control the traffic etc.

Re:What is Uber, a CAB COMPANY?

[AuMatar]

Have you ever actually used an uber? Try doing it on a crowded street or by a hotel. It can take more than 2 minutes to find the damn car, its not like they're easily marked taxis. I've had ubers go more than 5 minutes late because they decided to park in the lot across the street, how the fuck was I supposed to know that?

Re:What is Uber, a CAB COMPANY?

[thevirtualcat]

Most cab companies I've used charge for every minute they have to wait.

That said, two minutes to find a nondescript car that may or may not be where the app says they are is a bit unreasonable.

Re:What is Uber, a CAB COMPANY?

[sycodon]

Do you get a credit if the driver is late?

Re:What is Uber, a CAB COMPANY?

[TapeCutter]

This was never a problem when I drove cabs 30yrs ago, first you make contact with the customer in person, then start the meter, then wait for them to get in, simple and fair for both parties. Yes it may mean you have to get off your arse and knock on the door to make contact. No contact after 5-10min trying, leave empty handed and put their name/address on the dispatcher's shit list.

Re: What is Uber, a CAB COMPANY?

[mindwhip]

And the award for best flamebait post right there.

I'd argue differently. Customers are money, happy tipping customers even more money. If you piss of your customers because you excessively fine them (or even just act annoyed) for a few additional minutes waiting (which will likely be insignificant compared to traffic delays anyway) you have no customers and therefore no money, and lots and lots of time. That and the journey cost should have some padding already built in for that wait time, trying to screw even more money out of your customers is just greed.

Even if you say the driver should be getting paid for those minutes, taking the current US median taxi driver wage of around $16 per hour (source http://www1.salary.com/Taxi-Dr... ) (which is likely more than an uber drivers average hourly wage) that extra 5 minutes at most should be $1.33. Charging $5-$10 is excessive.

Re: What is Uber, a CAB COMPANY?

[Swave An deBwoner]

Even if you say the driver should be getting paid for those minutes, taking the current US median taxi driver wage of around $16 per hour (source http://www1.salary.com/Taxi-Dr... [salary.com] ) (which is likely more than an uber drivers average hourly wage) that extra 5 minutes at most should be $1.33. Charging $5-$10 is excessive.

So, yeah, $1.33 for the driver; $8.67 for Uber. Fair is fair.

My driver was 8 minutes late yesterday

[idji]

I didn't get a pop-up at 5 minutes asking me if I wanted to cancel. NOR could I see on the display how many minutes ago I requested the driver.
And my driver took a wrong turn coming to me making him even later.
And my driver took 3-4 minutes AFTER the trip before he closed it. Did I pay for that too?

Re:It's bad enough they don't tip

[93 Escort Wagon]

Why should Uber riders tip the driver? I mean this as a serious question.

Uber has represented itself as a way for it's drivers to make extra cash. We're already paying for the ride - so why should we have to tip? If the drivers aren't getting the bulk of the fare already, then we're basically paying a lot of money for a middle-man who does very little... which seems to go against the whole reason Uber exists.

When I tip a hair stylist, I'm aware he/she is getting very little of the price I paid for the haircut. Same thing with a waiter at a restaurant. But in those cases, the owner is providing material support (space, tools) to their employees. The relationship between Uber and its drivers doesn't seem analogous to that sort of situation.