The New Way Uber Drivers Can Fine You
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If it takes you too long to get to your Uber, be prepared to pay for it. Uber is rolling out a new, driver-friendly feature that penalizes riders for being tardy.
Uber
The company announced that it's adding a fine for riders if a driver waits longer than two minutes. The fee will be calculated per minute according to how long the driver has to wait, according to the BBC.
If a driver waits for a rider and the rider never shows up, the wait time fee will be added to the cancelation fee that's already in place.
The company has already tested the feature in New York, New Jersey, Dallas, and Phoenix.
Uber
Many Uber riders weren't happy about the change.
In a press release on its website this week, Uber said that the company is adding the feature because it values drivers' time.
"Your time is valuable, so it’s frustrating when riders run late or cancel when you’re already at the pickup location. We’ve been trying something new: paying drivers for wait times that exceed two minutes. In the cities where we’ve been testing this, we’ve seen that riders are more likely to be prompt. We’ll be expanding the policy to a dozen U.S. cities this month, with more coming soon."
Uber is also adding the ability for drivers to pause new ride requests when they're ready for log off, get paid for their rides more quickly, and give drivers discounts when they decide to be riders.
Uber
The changes come after Uber settled a $100 million class action lawsuit in April with California and Massachusetts drivers who said that they should be paid as employees and not contractors. New York City Uber drivers filed a similar lawsuit last week demanding that they be treated as employees in order to receive benefits such as minimum wage, overtime pay, and reimbursements for expenses.
