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If Uber wanted to protect themselves, they'd authorize for the slower route and settle for the actual route (up to authorization). It sounds like Uber is using

If Uber wanted to protect themselves, they'd authorize for the slower route and settle for the actual route (up to authorization). It sounds like Uber is using two estimates (or possibly an estimate and a actual; unclear from article) and simply pocketing the difference to increase their margins. It's an incredibly deceptive practice if Uber is billing you for a route it doesn't intend to send you on. As a customer, I feel it's outright fraudulent -- they're simply lying about their intentions to charge me a higher rate for their service without disclosing they're billing at a higher rate. I wouldn't tolerate that from any contracting service -- charge more hourly, or bill by the deliverable, but don't lie to me about how you intend to do the work. I don't care, but I do care you're lying to me.

enknamel 10y ago
Protect themselves from what? Uber is under no obligation to charge you any amount based off of route, zone, etc. They can charge you whatever they see fit and pay their drivers whatever they see fit. If you don't like the charge, don't take the Uber! If the driver doesn't like the fare, don't accept it! In case you haven't noticed this is how ALL middle men make money. They charge more to the end user than they pay for a product. Even your contracting example makes sense. You pay for a deliverable. Does it matter that it costs them less to get it to you and pocket the difference? Nope. That principle is the backbone of all commerce. You charge more than it costs you to deliver.
- nikofeyn 10y ago
  in this case the middleman is telling a different story between the user and driver. uber is, allegedly, charging the user a higher price while showing the driver a lower price so that they are pocketing extra money that should be going to the driver. say uber takes 10% off each transaction by contract. if they charge the user $10 but show the driver the ride is $8, then by paying the driver $7.20 instead of the deserved and agreed upon via contract $9.00, then they are skimming "hidden" money. this is highly deceptive. this is how a middleman in a more seedy emplyment scenario gets their fingers chopped off because they're making extra money on the side from the business transactions.
true_religion 10y ago
They're not billing you based on a route, they're billing you based on a destination you select and offering a flat rate for it. You can take it or leave it. If circumstances intervene, Uber can easily lose money on a ride but you don't pay more. Uber is not a metered service.
- SomeStupidPoint 10y ago
  Why does Uber show a route at all, then? Again, I don't care if a contractor wants to bill by deliverables. But to transfer domains, if a software contractor gave me a bullshit list of estimated times to justify a project price, I'd let them go for bullshitting me on the estimates even though I'm okay with the final price. Just be honest and tell me you want to bill by deliverable, not fudge around with high estimates of a low rate to "justify" it.
  - true_religion 10y ago
    They show a route so you can feel safe in the car and know how close you are to your destination.

enknamel 10y ago

Protect themselves from what? Uber is under no obligation to charge you any amount based off of route, zone, etc. They can charge you whatever they see fit and pay their drivers whatever they see fit. If you don't like the charge, don't take the Uber! If the driver doesn't like the fare, don't accept it! In case you haven't noticed this is how ALL middle men make money. They charge more to the end user than they pay for a product. Even your contracting example makes sense. You pay for a deliverable. Does it matter that it costs them less to get it to you and pocket the difference? Nope. That principle is the backbone of all commerce. You charge more than it costs you to deliver.

nikofeyn 10y ago
in this case the middleman is telling a different story between the user and driver. uber is, allegedly, charging the user a higher price while showing the driver a lower price so that they are pocketing extra money that should be going to the driver. say uber takes 10% off each transaction by contract. if they charge the user $10 but show the driver the ride is $8, then by paying the driver $7.20 instead of the deserved and agreed upon via contract $9.00, then they are skimming "hidden" money. this is highly deceptive. this is how a middleman in a more seedy emplyment scenario gets their fingers chopped off because they're making extra money on the side from the business transactions.

true_religion 10y ago

They're not billing you based on a route, they're billing you based on a destination you select and offering a flat rate for it. You can take it or leave it. If circumstances intervene, Uber can easily lose money on a ride but you don't pay more. Uber is not a metered service.

SomeStupidPoint 10y ago
Why does Uber show a route at all, then? Again, I don't care if a contractor wants to bill by deliverables. But to transfer domains, if a software contractor gave me a bullshit list of estimated times to justify a project price, I'd let them go for bullshitting me on the estimates even though I'm okay with the final price. Just be honest and tell me you want to bill by deliverable, not fudge around with high estimates of a low rate to "justify" it.
- true_religion 10y ago
  They show a route so you can feel safe in the car and know how close you are to your destination.