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How do I pay for tolls?
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The Guru Take
Passenger pays for the tolls. Charged to the method of payment on file.
The tolls on Uber and other rideshare services are generally charged automatically to the customer. This is reflect on your receipt, and it is rolled up into the total fare. At the end of the trip, a single charge is applied to the method of payment you have stored on the Uber's app.
Related articles:
How do Uber Pool and Lyft Line handle tolls? Who pays for the tolls when there are multiple parties?
Am I supposed to pay cash for tolls on an Uber?
Who pays the tolls on the return trip on an Uber/Lyft ride?
Comments
When I first drove with Uber as a black car driver in 2011 I was expected to pay the tolls for passengers. I immediately complained to the company that owned the black car, a limo company. They said no one had ever complained before. I said that in the history of taxi driving no driver had ever paid their passengers bridge tolls. I had to collect receipts for this expense for two years, complaining all the while, submitting them as a cost of doing business expense with my taxes before Uber, around 2013, announced brightly that the passengers would now be charged for a bridge toll! I imagine I was not alone in my complaint.
I would guess they finally realized that the GPS could detect the crossing of a toll bridge or other toll roadway and thus charge the passenger for the fee. As a driver I have a Fastrak transponder that allows me to pass through a toll gate in my region, it charges my account, funded by a credit card and I am paid for that same toll by Uber in my next pay transacti…
Read more...
When I first drove with Uber as a black car driver in 2011 I was expected to pay the tolls for passengers. I immediately complained to the company that owned the black car, a limo company. They said no one had ever complained before. I said that in the history of taxi driving no driver had ever paid their passengers bridge tolls. I had to collect receipts for this expense for two years, complaining all the while, submitting them as a cost of doing business expense with my taxes before Uber, around 2013, announced brightly that the passengers would now be charged for a bridge toll! I imagine I was not alone in my complaint.
I would guess they finally realized that the GPS could detect the crossing of a toll bridge or other toll roadway and thus charge the passenger for the fee. As a driver I have a Fastrak transponder that allows me to pass through a toll gate in my region, it charges my account, funded by a credit card and I am paid for that same toll by Uber in my next pay transaction.
At the end of the year on the tax statement I receive is special box indicating what the total amount of these refunds has been. My accountant does the rest.
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Wow, you had to eat the tolls as a limo driver? That's insane. George Washington Bridge and other NYC tunnels are $15!!! (maybe more for livery drivers)
You'd lose on every fare to New Jersey.
I don't understand the question...
You cross the toll bridge/tunnel, the amount is added to your toll pass, and you are reimbursed as soon as you drop off the passenger.
Uber's app automatically charges you for tolls. It goes on the total fare and it gets charged to your credit card or any other method of payment you have on file.
Uber/Lyft are both "supposed" to automatically reimburse you and charge the customer for tolls, HOWEVER, in my experience of 3 years, that almost never happens. However if you use your help screens and provide a receipt (either from your electronic toll device or an actual receipt) they will reimburse you without question.
So in that case, Uber eats it, right? The charge won't go back to the customer? I guess the GPS and toll calculations aren't perfect yet.
One of the articles posted by the guru mentions how they sometimes overcharge. like the bridge from Philly to Jersey side. It's supposed to only be charged for the ride back, but they charge the passenger both directions. It's supposed to protect the driver who may need to eat it on the way back.
The passenger is charged for the fare, but that is on the back end of the payment. The way I pay my tolls is by using an EZTag, and then, of course, keep a balance on there. It is an upfront cost that is reimbursed, this is not the only company to do something along those lines.
It's automatic. Uber charges your credit card. You have to do nothing.
Do not pay the driver cash, no matter what you do. There's a scam around that.