As the saying goes, time is money, and that’s especially true for services like Uber. More often than not, the kiasu Singaporean in us will book a ride before we’re ready to leave the house.
We often underestimate the time we need to get ready, and as a result, cause our partner drivers to wait an extra 5 (or even 10) minutes before we finally arrive. Starting today, Uber’s new policy should make us change our habits.
When your driver reaches the pickup location, a push notification will be sent to you. After your driver waits for 3 minutes, per minute wait-time charges will apply. Starting at 20 cents a minute on uberX, the charges can reach 60 cents a minute on ExecLarge, which could easily exceed the cost savings from your promo code.
This new feature is currently under testing with a selected number of drivers, including drivers of uberX, uberXL, UberExec and ExecLarge.
You might think that the charges are relatively insignificant, but the dynamic pricing on these charges will apply in times of high demand.
On the other hand, you might be worried that riders might be unfairly charged under this new scheme, when drivers start timing before they arrive. Uber has set the timer to begin only when the driver has arrived at the pickup location, meaning that wait-time charges will be implemented fairly.
Here’s a word of advice: Request a ride only when you’re ready to meet the driver, and take your push notification seriously.