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How does this work? The drivers use the Uber app to find a customer and then when they pick up the customer they just turn off the Uber app? Wouldn’t the custom

How does this work? The drivers use the Uber app to find a customer and then when they pick up the customer they just turn off the Uber app? Wouldn’t the customer get charged through Uber anyways? Wouldn’t a couple of these be a huge red flag to Uber and they would disable the drivers account on their end?

mbiondi 3y ago
I've done this. The driver cancels your ride and you pay cash.
- huytersd 3y ago
  Wouldn’t that stick out on Uber’s end? A driver that continuously accepts rides and then cancels them without completing a single one? They could just ban the driver cutting off his source of new clients.
  - vegetable 3y ago
    There are other apps, though. The id system of the local apps are fairly lax, so the driver will just create another account. Besides, they don't always cancel rides. Sometimes they accept "manufactured" rides. E.g. once you've hailed a ride on the street normally, they might tell you to initiate a search through [ride-sharing-app] and then accept it (to maybe complete some quota that lowers their commission payable).
    - crossroadsguy 3y ago
      The vehicle is also an entity at such services and that “ID” (registration num) is anything but easily changeable. So it’s not that simple.
  - mbiondi 3y ago
    Beats me. Maybe they are too big to notice? Or don't care? I've done this more than once (and I don't take many Ubers). I end up paying less and the driver makes more money, so everyone is happy.
fnordpiglet 3y ago
Reading the linked article: There are two popular ways in which khep works: drivers either request customers to cancel a booked ride before it starts and pay them directly, or they woo passengers on the streets by offering the same price as shown on the app, noted Ananya Raihan, a researcher associated with Fairwork, a labor project by the Oxford Internet Institute and WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
fy20 3y ago
I was in India earlier this year, and the usual scam there was: 1. The driver accepts the booking, but doesn't start driving 2. They call the customer and try to negotiate a higher price outside Uber 3. If the customer disagrees they do nothing, with the expectation the customer cancels (as you can't book another driver until you do). I'm guessing they have a handful of different accounts on different phones and just don't care if one gets banned. In Mumbai there was usually no issue with Uber (but there you can also just take a tuk-tuk), but in smaller cities without other options this was common, especially on longer trips. The thing is though the price for longer trips are ridiculously cheap. When I was there in January, Uber calculated the same price to travel across Mumbai (1 hour) as from Mumbai to Pune (3 hours, without stops, and then the driver needs to drive home). It was around 1500 INR or 15 USD - I'm surprised the later trip would even cover the cost of fuel.

mbiondi 3y ago

I've done this. The driver cancels your ride and you pay cash.

huytersd 3y ago
Wouldn’t that stick out on Uber’s end? A driver that continuously accepts rides and then cancels them without completing a single one? They could just ban the driver cutting off his source of new clients.
- vegetable 3y ago
  There are other apps, though. The id system of the local apps are fairly lax, so the driver will just create another account. Besides, they don't always cancel rides. Sometimes they accept "manufactured" rides. E.g. once you've hailed a ride on the street normally, they might tell you to initiate a search through [ride-sharing-app] and then accept it (to maybe complete some quota that lowers their commission payable).
  - crossroadsguy 3y ago
    The vehicle is also an entity at such services and that “ID” (registration num) is anything but easily changeable. So it’s not that simple.
- mbiondi 3y ago
  Beats me. Maybe they are too big to notice? Or don't care? I've done this more than once (and I don't take many Ubers). I end up paying less and the driver makes more money, so everyone is happy.

fnordpiglet 3y ago

Reading the linked article: There are two popular ways in which khep works: drivers either request customers to cancel a booked ride before it starts and pay them directly, or they woo passengers on the streets by offering the same price as shown on the app, noted Ananya Raihan, a researcher associated with Fairwork, a labor project by the Oxford Internet Institute and WZB Berlin Social Science Center.

fy20 3y ago

I was in India earlier this year, and the usual scam there was: 1. The driver accepts the booking, but doesn't start driving 2. They call the customer and try to negotiate a higher price outside Uber 3. If the customer disagrees they do nothing, with the expectation the customer cancels (as you can't book another driver until you do). I'm guessing they have a handful of different accounts on different phones and just don't care if one gets banned. In Mumbai there was usually no issue with Uber (but there you can also just take a tuk-tuk), but in smaller cities without other options this was common, especially on longer trips. The thing is though the price for longer trips are ridiculously cheap. When I was there in January, Uber calculated the same price to travel across Mumbai (1 hour) as from Mumbai to Pune (3 hours, without stops, and then the driver needs to drive home). It was around 1500 INR or 15 USD - I'm surprised the later trip would even cover the cost of fuel.