Uber taxis 'up front fees'

DullGreyGuy

UnsureAboutthis said:

My question to Uber riders is, is the 'Up Front Fee' fixed and/or does it allow for reasonable (50 mile trip about hours delays) delays?

My dread is getting Uber and then on the motorway you get stuck/delayed for one/two hours and get a bill for a lot, lot more than the 'up front price.'

Then pay a fixed price with a private hire cab and not have the uncertainty of Uber? It's in part why their prices are higher because if it takes 40 minutes, 50, 1hr 50 or 3hr you pay the same price whereas with Uber once you exceed a certain amount of excess time/distance the price switches from fixed to mile/minute. 

I've had it happen a couple of times, normally it's been under 10% difference. One time was stuck going absolutely no where but it was on a local road not too far from home so cut losses and ended the trip and walked the rest of the way home, that was double the fare but it was supposed to be a 20 minute journey and had been in the car nearly an hr at the time of ending (and obv the driver was still stuck in non-moving traffic)

Jenni_D

UnsureAboutthis said:

Jenni_D said:

Ditto re. parking ... I like to park my car and take my keys with me.

And I wouldn't be a Last-Minute Lucy re. taxis either - simply not worth the hassle and angst.

What?

Try reading the post immediately before mine. I was agreeing with their general comment, but it's entirely up to you if you wish to risk a variable expense (and even the availability of taxi) at the start of an expensive (probably) holiday/trip.🙄

nomoneytoday

Yes it can change.
I booked a London to Kent Uber - the app said £48
Got there late as the Blackwall Tunnel had closed and the bill came to £62

I was going to tip on top of the original fare as he was a nice driver but once the higher bill came in I didn't, so the end result was a little higher than expected.
 

UnsureAboutthis

Hoenir said:

UnsureAboutthis said:

My dread is getting Uber and then on the motorway you get stuck/delayed for one/two hours and get a bill for a lot, lot more than the 'up front price.'

That's always the risk when travelling that delays will occur. Only reasonable that a self employed person charges for their time. It's their living and how the pay their bills.  

"Only reasonable," really?
So what is the point of "UP Front pricing"  

Mini cabs don't bleat about "up front pricing," but I've yet to hear or read from anyone where a fixed price trip and I would call it ""up front price")  were charged more than the agreed price.

Having read Uber's T&C's, I am unclear just like some other people

So, what does "up front pricing" mean? To me it mean, I go on the app, it comes up with a "up front price" and no metion of extra charges if delayed on route is site, what would most people make of that if the Uber cab was on a part of a motorway and there was an accident and 2/3 hour delay and you got charged an extra 200 on top of the "upfront" charge of let's say, 25 pounds.  

Black cabs are a lot more expeiesive and most people are aware the meter price not only takes mielage into account but time spent as well, WHY can't Uber just be clear about their "up front price£ so those like me that may want to use Uber, new to it as aware the "up front price" is SUBJECT TO CHANGE depandent on prevailing traffic conditions and that is waht I call, "reasonable."

Aylesbury_Duck

^^^ all of which adds to the argument that it's not worth trying to save a few quid by calling an Uber at the last minute.  There's a reason the alternatives are more expensive - the risk to the operator is baked into the price.  The fact that Uber's definition and terms are unclear on the matter make using them risky if cost is your priority.

DullGreyGuy

UnsureAboutthis said:

Hoenir said:

UnsureAboutthis said:

My dread is getting Uber and then on the motorway you get stuck/delayed for one/two hours and get a bill for a lot, lot more than the 'up front price.'

That's always the risk when travelling that delays will occur. Only reasonable that a self employed person charges for their time. It's their living and how the pay their bills.  

"Only reasonable," really?
So what is the point of "UP Front pricing"  

Mini cabs don't bleat about "up front pricing," but I've yet to hear or read from anyone where a fixed price trip and I would call it ""up front price")  were charged more than the agreed price.

Having read Uber's T&C's, I am unclear just like some other people

So, what does "up front pricing" mean? To me it mean, I go on the app, it comes up with a "up front price" and no metion of extra charges if delayed on route is site, what would most people make of that if the Uber cab was on a part of a motorway and there was an accident and 2/3 hour delay and you got charged an extra 200 on top of the "upfront" charge of let's say, 25 pounds.  

Black cabs are a lot more expeiesive and most people are aware the meter price not only takes mielage into account but time spent as well, WHY can't Uber just be clear about their "up front price£ so those like me that may want to use Uber, new to it as aware the "up front price" is SUBJECT TO CHANGE depandent on prevailing traffic conditions and that is waht I call, "reasonable."

They used to be, you used to simply get an estimated price and were actually charged based on time/distance like a black cab... this was one of the key arguments that was used against Uber in London on if they can operate without being hackney carriage licence holders. 

Whilst they won that argument and were allowed to operate under private hire licences they changed a long time ago to a semi-fixed price and my experience has been the vast majority of trips are charged at the price quoted. You have to remember that they have a decent algorithm and if the traffic is heavy the up front price will be higher to start with to reflect the current traffic. 

UnsureAboutthis

DullGreyGuy said:

UnsureAboutthis said:

Hoenir said:

UnsureAboutthis said:

My dread is getting Uber and then on the motorway you get stuck/delayed for one/two hours and get a bill for a lot, lot more than the 'up front price.'

That's always the risk when travelling that delays will occur. Only reasonable that a self employed person charges for their time. It's their living and how the pay their bills.  

"Only reasonable," really?
So what is the point of "UP Front pricing"  

Mini cabs don't bleat about "up front pricing," but I've yet to hear or read from anyone where a fixed price trip and I would call it ""up front price")  were charged more than the agreed price.

Having read Uber's T&C's, I am unclear just like some other people

So, what does "up front pricing" mean? To me it mean, I go on the app, it comes up with a "up front price" and no metion of extra charges if delayed on route is site, what would most people make of that if the Uber cab was on a part of a motorway and there was an accident and 2/3 hour delay and you got charged an extra 200 on top of the "upfront" charge of let's say, 25 pounds.  

Black cabs are a lot more expeiesive and most people are aware the meter price not only takes mielage into account but time spent as well, WHY can't Uber just be clear about their "up front price£ so those like me that may want to use Uber, new to it as aware the "up front price" is SUBJECT TO CHANGE depandent on prevailing traffic conditions and that is waht I call, "reasonable."

They used to be, you used to simply get an estimated price and were actually charged based on time/distance like a black cab... this was one of the key arguments that was used against Uber in London on if they can operate without being hackney carriage licence holders. 

Whilst they won that argument and were allowed to operate under private hire licences they changed a long time ago to a semi-fixed price and my experience has been the vast majority of trips are charged at the price quoted. You have to remember that they have a decent algorithm and if the traffic is heavy the up front price will be higher to start with to reflect the current traffic. 

I appreciate that. However, you could easily get stuck on the motorway for a couple of hours if not four, therefore, IMO, a fixed price cab is better if you are going to have to travel along a motorway.

oldernonethewiser

UnsureAboutthis said:

DullGreyGuy said:

UnsureAboutthis said:

Hoenir said:

UnsureAboutthis said:

My dread is getting Uber and then on the motorway you get stuck/delayed for one/two hours and get a bill for a lot, lot more than the 'up front price.'

That's always the risk when travelling that delays will occur. Only reasonable that a self employed person charges for their time. It's their living and how the pay their bills.  

"Only reasonable," really?
So what is the point of "UP Front pricing"  

Mini cabs don't bleat about "up front pricing," but I've yet to hear or read from anyone where a fixed price trip and I would call it ""up front price")  were charged more than the agreed price.

Having read Uber's T&C's, I am unclear just like some other people

So, what does "up front pricing" mean? To me it mean, I go on the app, it comes up with a "up front price" and no metion of extra charges if delayed on route is site, what would most people make of that if the Uber cab was on a part of a motorway and there was an accident and 2/3 hour delay and you got charged an extra 200 on top of the "upfront" charge of let's say, 25 pounds.  

Black cabs are a lot more expeiesive and most people are aware the meter price not only takes mielage into account but time spent as well, WHY can't Uber just be clear about their "up front price£ so those like me that may want to use Uber, new to it as aware the "up front price" is SUBJECT TO CHANGE depandent on prevailing traffic conditions and that is waht I call, "reasonable."

They used to be, you used to simply get an estimated price and were actually charged based on time/distance like a black cab... this was one of the key arguments that was used against Uber in London on if they can operate without being hackney carriage licence holders. 

Whilst they won that argument and were allowed to operate under private hire licences they changed a long time ago to a semi-fixed price and my experience has been the vast majority of trips are charged at the price quoted. You have to remember that they have a decent algorithm and if the traffic is heavy the up front price will be higher to start with to reflect the current traffic. 

I appreciate that. However, you could easily get stuck on the motorway for a couple of hours if not four, therefore, IMO, a fixed price cab is better if you are going to have to travel along a motorway.

Stuck for that long the price of the Uber might pale into insignificance compared to missing the flight

Ergates

UnsureAboutthis said:

DullGreyGuy said:

UnsureAboutthis said:

Hoenir said:

UnsureAboutthis said:

My dread is getting Uber and then on the motorway you get stuck/delayed for one/two hours and get a bill for a lot, lot more than the 'up front price.'

That's always the risk when travelling that delays will occur. Only reasonable that a self employed person charges for their time. It's their living and how the pay their bills.  

"Only reasonable," really?
So what is the point of "UP Front pricing"  

Mini cabs don't bleat about "up front pricing," but I've yet to hear or read from anyone where a fixed price trip and I would call it ""up front price")  were charged more than the agreed price.

Having read Uber's T&C's, I am unclear just like some other people

So, what does "up front pricing" mean? To me it mean, I go on the app, it comes up with a "up front price" and no metion of extra charges if delayed on route is site, what would most people make of that if the Uber cab was on a part of a motorway and there was an accident and 2/3 hour delay and you got charged an extra 200 on top of the "upfront" charge of let's say, 25 pounds.  

Black cabs are a lot more expeiesive and most people are aware the meter price not only takes mielage into account but time spent as well, WHY can't Uber just be clear about their "up front price£ so those like me that may want to use Uber, new to it as aware the "up front price" is SUBJECT TO CHANGE depandent on prevailing traffic conditions and that is waht I call, "reasonable."

They used to be, you used to simply get an estimated price and were actually charged based on time/distance like a black cab... this was one of the key arguments that was used against Uber in London on if they can operate without being hackney carriage licence holders. 

Whilst they won that argument and were allowed to operate under private hire licences they changed a long time ago to a semi-fixed price and my experience has been the vast majority of trips are charged at the price quoted. You have to remember that they have a decent algorithm and if the traffic is heavy the up front price will be higher to start with to reflect the current traffic. 

I appreciate that. However, you could easily get stuck on the motorway for a couple of hours if not four, therefore, IMO, a fixed price cab is better if you are going to have to travel along a motorway.

"Easily" ?   Traffic of that proportion doesn't just appear out of nowhere at random.  The likelihood of getting stuck in traffic for 4 hours would be taken into account in the fixed price.

lr1277

If there is an accident ahead, the kind of which leads to a road closure, then you might be stuck for hours and perhaps even miss your flight.

With the data available on the internet for both uber and private hire drivers, they should know about any holdups. If there is an accident a few cars ahead of you, assuming you don't get caught up, you might be able to drive past.

It is that situation where there is an accident, your driver was not aware, and you get held up say by police.

OP As you have a long journey with an uncertain journey time, why don't you go the day before and stay in a hotel overnight? If you are reluctant because of the cost, think about how much you paid for your trip and compare the two.

Or does your travel insurance cover the scenario of getting stuck in traffic? If so the insurance might pay the walk-up price for a new return ticket. I don't know, I have never had to claim on travel insurance.