What is "Rider Fees"? How come no one can tell me what it is?

Basically an aggregate of charges passed onto the passengers

Another heavily discussed topic amongst the Uber drivers. The lack of clarification seems to confuse many drivers, and Uber does not seem to be too upfront about what it consists. Before I answer this question however, please keep in mind that what this fee includes heavily depends on your location, what server you fall under, what timeframe you are referring to.

First of all, the line item labeled as "rider fee" is something that drivers see, not the riders. The riders do see "Safe Rides Fee" or "Booking Fee" but this is not the same.

The "rider fee" is the aggregate of fees incurred by the customers for taking the ride. This can be the booking fees from Uber, infamous "Safe Rides Fee", taxes owed to the local government, and other fees that are often required by law. This line item needs to be separated from others, because this is the amount that is directly charged to the customers and collected by Uber to handle appropriately. It is an attempt by Uber to clarify that this amount is not part of the driver pay out. No commissions are charged by Uber and the driver does not have to report it on his or her taxes as income.

So, why the confusion and why the outrage?

• Many drivers see this as a way for Uber to take a larger portion of the fare, as this fee goes directly to Uber and there's no payout for the drivers.
• Many drivers think this is the customer's booking fee but it often is not the same as the "Booking Fee" that customers see.
• Come the tax time, drivers often ask the question whether this is income or can be deducted.
• The rider fee used to include the "Safe Rides Fee", which no longer exists, at least in the form it does now. This was the fee shown and charged to the customers to help Uber with its safety initiative.

To read more about "Safe Rides Fee", go to this Guru Question, Waht is Uber's Safe Ride Fees?

ippei 1202

Uber Driver, CEO of TaxiFareFinder and Unleashed, LLC