Changes to Uber service will cost you
Jun 21, 2017, 6:49 AM
Rideshare giant Uber continues its push for congestion tolling in Seattle. (AP)
(AP)
Uber is making big changes to its service.
Following an update, riders will be able to tip drivers with the app. The feature is only being tested in Seattle, Minneapolis, and Houston.
“I heard it from drivers, who are like, ‘Listen, people are always trying to give us tips and we can’t do it through the app.’ And we would be like, ‘Well we’re talking to Uber about it,’” said Charles Jenkins, a two-year Uber driver who is also a peer adviser for the company, and is on the board of Drive Forward Seattle, a driver-based group that works with the city council and the company to make driver-based changes.
The tipping option will allow riders to select a dollar amount in the app after a ride.
“Tips are a reflection of your service,” Jenkins said. “And we service our community and Seattle, Bellevue and Redmond and the surrounding areas. When people get good service, they feel good about it, and they want to give you something for that … Even more so is the riders. The riders wanted tipping as well. They wanted to give us something for the service … people are appreciative.”
Other Uber changes
The tipping option is one of many in a series of changes in Uber’s “180 days of Change.”
Another change will affect wait times. Drivers will collect a fee if a rider cancels after two minutes. They will also be paid for waiting if a rider has not entered the car within two minutes.
“It used to be a five-minute wait time; Now the wait time is going to two minutes,” Jenkins said. “If you are sitting there waiting for someone, after 2 minutes of time, you will start getting paid to sit there and wait for them to come out of the building or house or from events … I’ve waited for 15-20 minutes before. They keep calling me and they are coming out, they are coming out, and then they cancel. And you don’t make any money off of that. That has now changed to 2 minutes and then you are going to start getting paid to sit there.”
Uber is also adding a $2 fee to teen fare. Drivers will earn more for providing rides to teens who use the service.
Uber plans to announce another round of changes in July.
Uber CEO resigns under pressure
Meanwhile, The Associated Press reports that the CEO of Uber resigned after being pressured from investors at a “pivotal time for the company.”
The AP reports the company’s board confirmed the decision Wednesday morning. A statement reads that former CEO Travis Kalanick is spending some time healing from the death of his mother and “giving the company room to fully embrace this new chapter in Uber’s history.”
The company, according to AP, has been having trouble “morphing from a free-wheeling startup into a mature company.”
The company’s decision to allow riders to give Uber drivers tips is a move that Kalanick resisted.
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