Jumping in on this without knowing anything about the business model, but why not just ask all of the drivers to pay $35 (for example) one time to do a bg check / insurance check?
Uber adds $1 “Safe Rides Fee” to UberX rides for background checks, insurance
11–20 of 92 posts
Re: Uber adds $1 “Safe Rides Fee” to UberX rides for background checks, insurance
#12What if I want to opt-out of paying the "Safe Rides Fee", does that mean a car with three wheels will show up piloted by an unsavory character? This is a really puzzling move by Uber. I would expect for their core brand promise to be safety, not an add-on fee.
It doesn't look like you can.
Re: Uber adds $1 “Safe Rides Fee” to UberX rides for background checks, insurance
#13What if I want to opt-out of paying the "Safe Rides Fee", does that mean a car with three wheels will show up piloted by an unsavory character? This is a really puzzling move by Uber. I would expect for their core brand promise to be safety, not an add-on fee.
Or, when you get a driver that makes you fear for your life because they are spending more time paying attention to their three GPS devices instead of traffic, do you get a $1 refund for the un"safe" ride?
Re: Uber adds $1 “Safe Rides Fee” to UberX rides for background checks, insurance
#14Jumping in on this without knowing anything about the business model, but why not just ask all of the drivers to pay $35 (for example) one time to do a bg check / insurance check?
Right? I guess there would need to be some mechanism for updating them however. You don't want someone to get 'certified' and then get a record, but it be invisible.
I guess an ongoing rate is necessary for ongoing updating.
Re: Uber adds $1 “Safe Rides Fee” to UberX rides for background checks, insurance
#15Jumping in on this without knowing anything about the business model, but why not just ask all of the drivers to pay $35 (for example) one time to do a bg check / insurance check?
Probably because this isn't really about that.
Re: Uber adds $1 “Safe Rides Fee” to UberX rides for background checks, insurance
#16What if I want to opt-out of paying the "Safe Rides Fee", does that mean a car with three wheels will show up piloted by an unsavory character? This is a really puzzling move by Uber. I would expect for their core brand promise to be safety, not an add-on fee.
It doesn't look like you can.
Correct. I say that to prove the point that this raises more questions than it answers. Does this mean that Uber black car service isn't safe until this fee is applied there? What about Uber Taxi? Were my rides before this fee safe? Its bizarre.
Re: Uber adds $1 “Safe Rides Fee” to UberX rides for background checks, insurance
#17Jumping in on this without knowing anything about the business model, but why not just ask all of the drivers to pay $35 (for example) one time to do a bg check / insurance check?
The higher fee to drivers is not about Uber's underlying fixed costs; a simple fee or holdback on the first commission check would suffice. The purpose of the higher fee is to make more money of off the driver's to make Uber's balance sheet look better.
Basically, it's an indication that Uber's finances are a lot weaker than their lofty valuation would suggest.
Re: Uber adds $1 “Safe Rides Fee” to UberX rides for background checks, insurance
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
It doesn't look like you can.
Correct. I say that to prove the point that this raises more questions than it answers. Does this mean that Uber black car service isn't safe until this fee is applied there? What about Uber Taxi? Were my rides before this fee safe? Its bizarre.
Given that the black car and taxi services go through other, well, black car and taxi companies, I'd assume that they do this kind of thing themselves.
Re: Uber adds $1 “Safe Rides Fee” to UberX rides for background checks, insurance
#19Why not just add it to the base price of the Uber ride? Still seems a little gimmicky to me. I take uberX a very short distance on almost a daily basis. $1 more represents a 12% or 15% price increase in each of my rides. I thought the cheap short rides, was one of the best features of UberX. This will make me consider continuing to use them for these short daily trips.
Indeed, this sort of gimmick "fee" seems antithetical to Uber. The whole point of Uber is to avoid the BS associated with taxis, of which unclear pricing is one example. If they continue in this direction, why use Uber over a regular taxi?
Re: Uber adds $1 “Safe Rides Fee” to UberX rides for background checks, insurance
#20Next will be per bag fees for trips to the airport.
Just feels slimey with a side of "But safety! Don't you want safety?!"