Uber claims to have “totally redesigned the way drivers accept trips” with a feature dubbed “upfront pricing,” which displays drivers how much they’ll be paid for a journey as well as where they’ll end up after dropping a passenger off. According to the company’s statement on Friday, the move is part of their effort to make driving for the carpool service more flexible. Uber is also going to roll out a tool that would allow drivers to view other ride requests in their vicinity and choose particular journeys they want to perform.
The improvements, which have been tested in limited places, may result in fewer canceled trips because a driver does not want to travel to the destination or understands it will not be a lucrative trip.
The amount shown to drivers before accepting a trip is based on “several factors, including base fares, estimated trip length and duration, pickup distance, and surge pricing,” according to an upfront fee support document. The document also states that if the rider changes the drop-off address or there is “unexpected traffic” along the route, the fare will be adjusted. The figure also excludes gratuities and wait periods.
The paper does warn that the transition to upfront prices, which will be implemented “to the majority of the US in the coming months,” may result in certain kinds of rides earning drivers less. It cites “long and relatively quick (traffic-free) trips” and “trips to high-demand areas” as examples, but it also states that the new system will mean drivers will earn more on short trips, trips with a lot of traffic, trips where they end up in an area with fewer riders or trips where they have to travel a long distance before reaching the rider.
