Uber takes numerous factors into account when determining the cost of your Uber ride – which can result in individual trips being notably more expensive on occasion.
This is something that many frequent Uber users will have noted – such as a trip from the airport suddenly being double the price you would usually pay.
Uber explains that when a user enters a start and end location for a trip, it uses a dynamic pricing system to determine the price of the trip.
Higher values are caused by factors such as:
- Time
- Distance of your route
- Traffic
- Rider-to-driver demand.
“Sometimes, this can mean a temporary increase in price during particularly busy periods,” said Uber.
The ride-hailing service added that this variable pricing model encourages more drivers to get onto the roads during high-demand periods, as they will be informed that fares are currently higher.
Then, when more drivers are on the road, this can help prices to normalise back to their usual levels.
Therefore, if you are encountering a massively increased Uber trip price, you are simply unfortunate to be requesting an Uber during a period of peak demand.
While these peak periods can vary, common times include:
- Friday and Saturday nights
- After-work rush hour
- Big events and festivals
Uber faces challenges in South Africa
Uber faces a challenging operating climate in South Africa, with customers growing increasingly frustrated with the service.
These customers are giving the service one-star reviews on platforms like HelloPeter, citing poor drivers, expensive costs, bad vehicles, and cancelled trips.
One unhappy customer said:
“I requested a ride from Soweto to Roodepoort using cash and was charged R54 for the trip. When I reached my destination I paid the driver R55 cash. To my surprise, I received an email stating that I owe R44 and the driver reported that I didn’t pay for my fare. To make matters worse the App doesn’t give me an option to contact support.”
Another client said:
“Uber driver took off with stuff that he was supposed to deliver to me then kept lying saying he returned them while he didn’t and the bag he took costs 5k. Uber is protecting the driver instead of us clients”
Uber told MyBroadband that the company considers customer satisfaction is a top priority.
“When things do not go as planned, we endeavour to act quickly to make it right,” said Uber.
It added that it has dedicated support teams to investigate and resolve issues raised by both customers and drivers.
“We continually invest in driver education and evolving our in-app safety features,” Uber said.
“Rider feedback is an important part of this process, and we encourage riders to report issues directly through the app.”
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