‘Uber’ Becomes More Transparent; Clear, Not Confusing Fare Slaps

For anyone who has always found the math game that they always play when riding an “Uber” frustrating, good news; the cab hailing company is getting rid of the feature. Instead, passengers will now be told exactly how much they will pay in dollars, according to the company’s newsroom. While this may cause some relief for those who are arithmetically challenged, it still doesn’t remove the often high cost of getting an “Uber” during rush hour.

The Wall Street Journal reports that even though passengers will now know largely how much they will pay when they ride, they will not know when the “surge pricing” will take effect, which can increase their fare significantly. This means that passengers could call for an Uber, learn how much the ride will cost them and yet pay substantially more when they arrive without even knowing it.

It is possible to know when passengers are likely to pay higher rates by predicting when the demand for “Uber” will be at its highest. Typical events like New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day should be expected to come with higher “Uber” fare prices.

However, the cab hailing service has its own heat maps to indicate where the demand for their cabs is highest, and this is not something that passengers have access to. As a result, they could be in a peak area without knowing it and be charged many times what they were told.

Trying to put a spin on the situation, TechCrunch notes that “Uber” is saying that their “no math and no surprises” approach will lead to more return customers. This is what they concluded via tests done in several cities in the U.S. and India, as well as the data they collected with their “UberPOOL,” which already had the no-calculation feature two years ago.