Uber moves to hide surge pricing with upfront fares
thestar.com/business/2016/09/13/uber-moves-to...
thestar.comPosted Sep 13, 2016, 6:36 PM UTC
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thestar.com"Passengers will be told that they are facing increasing demand at the time of booking, essentially that surge pricing is in place."
So they're keeping surge pricing, but just telling you it's surge pricing a different way? did i miss something?
It sounds like they're providing an estimate based on an algorithm but im not clear if they will guarantee the price they estimate, or if its a tool only to gauge price
4
They already do this in the US (at least in Boston and Washington). You literally just get a fixed price before the trip. If you wanna make a stop somewhere you have to figure that out personally with the driver. Benefit to the customer is that you know exactly how much you'll be charged. Benefit to Uber is that they don't have to issue any more refunds for people who get taken on a bad route (or who ask their driver to stop somewhere and then say he/she took a bad route)
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and benefit for the driver, or the actual labourer?
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As usual with Uber: None whatsoever
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Except that they aren't telling you how much the surge is anymore.
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Righht.... Because they're doing one better and telling you the full cost upfront no hidden fees.
With surge pricing you just get told a multiplier and then are left to pay the surge on whatever route the driver takes or what traffic conditions allow. This way you can make a decision on whether or not you want the trip.
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The point is, I don't know how much I could save by waiting for the surge to end, because I don't know the multiplier.
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I don't think they're going to show "surge pricing is 1.5x" and let you be notified when it drops or ends. They want you to use the service during surge.
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This is great in that I like knowing the total ahead of time, but I wish they'd tell you how much it's surging, or what the normal price would be, in addition to telling you the upfront price. I guess the idea is that if it's worth the quoted price, you should just take it, but I often just wait out the surges if I can.
How will this work if you want to make more than one stop, or if you change your destination on the way?
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in my experience, if the stops are on the way/close, they've never minded or charged more or anything, but at the same time if you are doing a few stops, just tip the guy a few bucks extra.
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You must be kidding, nobody tips Uber drivers. For one thing, the app doesn't support tipping. Who carries change with them just for tipping drivers?
3†
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Under this new system, what would it matter what the surge pricing is or what the old price would be.
This is an entire pricing model shift. You can either take the cost or leave the cost, either way they are presenting you what it will cost to take the uber.
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I get that, but it's nice having more information so that I know if I'm paying 1.3x or 2.2x.
I'm thinking of a situation where I may check Uber, see it's too expensive, and decide not to take it, not knowing that it's currently surging 2x and I just have to wait it out and I'll be able to afford it. If I know there's a possibility it would enter my price range, I'd wait.
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Sounds good to me. I can see the fare right away and know how much i can expect to pay for a ride. I don't need to know how much surge is being applied. if $X is a good price for my trip, i'll pay it. Otherwise I won't.
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this is smart because they could always have surge pricing in effect and no one can complain because they don't call it surge pricing anymore.
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this is smart
also insidious
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Can you imagine if the taxi industry was this responsive?
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responsive about what? re-wording how much they're gouging you in surge prices?
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How are they gouging you? You're being told upfront what your fare is likely to be - you can choose to accept it or not, and you have a myriad of options for getting from Point A to Point B, including taking a taxi if you prefer your fare to be a mystery. Unlike these sob stories from drunken idiots who don't pay attention to what's on their screen, Uber has always been upfront about when surge pricing is in effect and how much of a surge it is - so for example, if you see its "10x" surge in effect, chances are you're looking at a pricey fare. But, in response to those same complaints they're adjusting their software to simply provide the fare estimate, including the surge price, so you don't have to guess - you'll see it on your screen and you can decide for yourself if you want to pay it or not. THAT is being responsive.
Point is UBER acknowledged the issue and proferred a solution. Again, when was the last time (or even first time) the taxi industry ever did that?
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When has the city allowed the cab industry to do that?
The city sets the prices for taxis.
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Yes, inexplicably.
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It's not an estimate - its the actual fare
In Halifax there is a company called Casino Taxi, they have an app that lets you order a cab/see where it is/fare esimate/etc (Note: It IS just an estimate)
If other companies stopped complaining and actually evolved like that Uber might have to treat their employees contractors well
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I guess you're not a fan of economics and demand and supply. You just expect things regardless of any thing that could affect the supply of that thing?
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Excuse me, but if you were a true fan of economics, you would know it's "Supply and Demand". Philistine.
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Tomato, Tomato.
-1
I'm all for uber or cabs being able to set what ever price they want when they want without government oversight.
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Just like any other private company that sets it's own price, this is not public transportation. As much as it might suck, if you don't like it, you take the subway, which in turn would make it not surge in the first place.... So you're kind of proving my point.
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This is a move designed to let the user get used to never knowing when there is a surge price, and thus always having a surge price regardless of availability. Everyone I spoke to felt that they would do something like this eventually, but this seems quick.
That means it's just the price then. Like if something is always on sale, it's not really on sale. If something is always surge, it's not a surge.
so... like the pricing at Loblaws or Shoppers Drug Mart?
I think this is just how they're planning on dealing with consumer surplus.
Their metrics suggest that people would pay more for uber then they currently are. And happily do so for the service they are getting.
So you're probably right. They don't want to show a "price hike" on their service, but they do want to increase it more then it is. This would allow them to increase the cost to a reasonable amount without raising too many red flags with the user base and media.
I listen to planet money too. Great podcast.