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How much are these long pickup fees? How are they calculated? When does it kick in? Is there something that triggers these 'long' pickup fees?
What are Long Pickup Fees by Uber? When does it apply?
Posted 6 years, 1 month ago
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AGirlHasNoName
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Ride Apprentice
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The Guru Take
Incentives for drivers to accept long distance pickups
What are long pickup fees?
"Long pickup fees" are assessed on your bill when your driver has to travel longer than usual to come make the pickup. It's basically an incentive for drivers, so they would accept more trips that may not be in their vicinity.
This attempts to address the driver's concern on long pickups. Think of a scenario where the driver woud accept a ride and trarvel 15 minutes for the rider, only to be faced with a 2 minute ride. This type of trip, driving 17 minutes to make $4, usually puts the driver in the red. (This type of pickup is common in the suburbs outside of the cities.)
This program started in October 2017 and is only avaiable in limited cities, such as LA, San Francisco and San Diego.
What triggers it? What is the threshold?
Long pickup fees begin once the driver has traveled a certain duration, and this threshold is between 7 and 10 minutes. Notice that it is by duration and not distance, and it can vary from city to city. The fees stop immediatley upon arrival and the pickup is made.
How much is it?
The fees are assessed per-mile and per-minute, and it begins the moment the threshold is reached and ends when the driver reaches the pickup location. The rates vary by the city but are generally lower than the regular fare. Once the pickup is made, regular fares are incurred.
(source: https://therideshareguy.com/what-does-ubers-long-pickup-fee-look-like-for-drivers/)
No double dipping with Minimum Fares
If your actual trip ends up being short and is subject the minimum fare, the long pickup fee will be applied to the portion of the minimum fare. Only when the long pickup fee exceeds the minimum fare, you would have to pay the fees.
(Source TheRideshareGuy blog)
ippei
1202
Uber Driver, CEO of TaxiFareFinder and Unleashed, LLC
Comments
Here is an article that outlines more information on Uber's Long Distance Pickup Fee.
Thanks!
As a rider, I am not sure about this. Isn't this sort of out of my control? I don't want some driver from 60 miles away excitedy picking me up and charging me $100 just to get to my house.
But again, if u live in an area that doesn't have a single Uber driver arround u for a diameter of 60 miles (the app automatically sends the trip request to the nearest driver); then it's fair enough to pay $100 just for getting an Uber ride in the middle of no-where!
Well, that's the problem, right? I wouldn't know if I am in middle of nowhere in terms of Uber availability until I open the Uber app and try. There are still decent sized cities where there are no Ubers, so it isn't about whether you are in a rural nowhere vs. a mid-size city with no Uber.
I would like Uber to warn me if it matched me up with someone from 60 miles away. I'd rather be told, "There are no drivers nearby" and I end up calling a local taxi, than being stuck with a bill.
I would like to think Uber has a mechanism in place where they wouldn't match you up with someone from that far away.
Yes, some regions cover an area large enough that it can be more than 60 miles end to end, but I doubt Uber would match you up with any driver that just happens to be available.
I am trying to think where such thing is possible. Maybe Jersey CIty or Cape Code near Boston at odd hours?
All the fees you can expect with your Uber ride in one place. https://ride.guru/content/newsroom/what-surcharges-can-you-expect-with-uber