Uber Route/Cost Warning

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Ancalagon

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Hey guys,

This morning I had to take an Uber to Wits University for a lecture, because I've injured my ankle and can't drive.

The trip, from Bryanston to Wits, cost R201, and involved a distance of 23km and a time of 29 minutes. He followed the GPs directions provided to him by his Uber app, which took him on Outspan, then Rivonia Road, then Marlboro drive, then the M1, then finally I directed him to the gate that I always use.

The R201 was broken down into:
Base fare: R5
Distance: R174
Time: 21.85

So, looking at that made me realize that Uber charges you primarily on distance. Therefore, when I took another Uber home, I instructed him to take me home via the shortest route I know, which is Empire -> Jan Smuts -> William Nicol. Incidentally, before I told him to turn left into Jan Smuts, his Uber GPS wanted him to carry on straight on Empire.

The trip was 15 kilometers, took 31 minutes, and cost R147. The R147 was broken down into R5 base fare, R118 distance charge, and the remainder time charge (slightly higher than the first trip). Quite a saving, I think you'll agree.

It makes me a little bit angry actually that the route that the GPS recommends to the driver is not the best route in terms of cost saving for the passenger. There may be a cost saving for the driver in terms of fuel - I don't care. They need to charge enough per KM that the driver gets a fair amount of money for driving me the distance. Taking you on a longer route will just end up costing the customer much more money, unless they pay attention (like I did) to figure out how it works.

In other words, if you take an Uber, always direct him to take the shortest route you know. If you don't know how to get there, expect to pay more than you should. Shortest in terms of distance, not necessarily time. If you ask me, the weighting that Uber uses when calculating the total fare is incorrect. Time is not weighted enough and distance is weighted too much.

I don't blame the drivers at all. The driver from this morning just followed what his GPS told him. I let him do it because I thought there might be a faster route I didn't know about.
 
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I suspect the distance isn't what the GPS is basing the route on, its travel time... however they charge more on the distance than the time...
 
That is what I suspect, which leads to the passenger being overcharged.
 
Thats common practice among cab drivers as well. They take fastest route yet charge by distance. They should inform you though (e.g. "There is traffic there at this time of day")
 
With Uber its institutional though. Its from their GPS.
 
Google maps also takes me a longer route sometimes. I'll often arrive somewhere and someone will say 'oh hey - you should've come that way rather' and true enough - the way they suggested is quicker.
 
Shorter route = higher traffic
Longer route = less traffic

I don't use Uber for long distances.
 
Ancalagon said:
That is what I suspect, which leads to the passenger being overcharged.
Click to expand...

The thing is that what most people want is to get to the destination quicker, so makes sense to have shortest time as the primary option.
Its also better for the drivers, the quicker they drop you off the sooner they can pick up the next customer.

Also... 10 mins does not mean much to you but imagine the shorter route was another 20 mins ? that would start to get annoying.

I think generally fastest route is going to be largely the same cost as shortest route, your route was an exception.
 
Well Uber refunded me R56 and said the driver took an unnecessarily long route. I wrote back to them and asked that they not penalize the driver, because he was simply following the directions given to him by the app. No response as yet.
 
Ancalagon said:
Well Uber refunded me R56 and said the driver took an unnecessarily long route. I wrote back to them and asked that they not penalize the driver, because he was simply following the directions given to him by the app. No response as yet.
Click to expand...

Did you report the trip to uber?
 
Took an UBER ride from Newlands to Camps Bay (Theresa Avenue). Half way down Camps Bay Drive there are roadworks and you detour down Geneva Drive and back up Camps Bay Drive for a bit, then into Hove Road

By this time UBER driver was totally lost, the GPS kept telling him the wrong way and he actually wanted to go to Hout Bay which is completely wrong. I had been to the house before so told him where to go.

The initial price quoted was R 181,00 and should have taken 21 mins. In the end, the trip was charged at R671,00, and according to them, took 3 hours and 10 mins, whereas we took 43 mins exactly. How could it be so wrong? Was it because the driver insisted on going 3km along Victoria Road towards Hout Bay until the GPS changed its mind for the 4th or 5th time. The display on the screen kept saying "recalculating" or "dimension" (whatever the latter meant). The driver was totally useless and did not know what to do or where to go.

Mails to UBER get a generic acknowledgement but no answer

The whole trip was a disaster. In the end I got my wife to come and collect us
 
In terms of the time versus distance, most "taxi" companies have a "per km" as well as a "per minute" charge, where the "per minute" charge applies to either time not moving or time travelling under a certain speed (like 5 or 10 km/h). So unless you are stuck in traffic, the distance charge will usually account for most of the fare. If you are stuck in traffic though it could be the other way around. So the shortest route will not necessarily be the cheapest.
 
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