Cab aggregator Uber on Thursday announced that it would do away with fare estimates. Instead, commuters will be shown the exact fare before they book a taxi.
Coming in the wake of government interventions over surge pricing, Uber’s move follows a practice that is already in place with UberPool, the share-cab service of the company.
In a company statement, Uber said, “There’s no complicated math and no surprises. Upfront fares are calculated using the expected time and distance of the trip and local traffic, as well as how many riders and nearby drivers are using Uber at that moment. And when fares go up due to increased demand, instead of surge lightning bolts and pop-up screens, riders are given the actual fare before they request their ride.”
Until now, commuters have been shown an estimated fare based on the distance and time of commute for non-surge priced rides which were often different from the actual fare. To make matters complex, in order to have more cabs on the road customers were charged X times the fare depending on the situation.