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Uber is rolling out a change in a few cities that might catch you off guard on your next ride: Your Uber driver can cancel your ride — or start the meter without you in the car — if you are just two minutes late to the pick-up point. Uber’s coining the phrase “Request When You’re Ready” for the new policy.
At first blush, this new two-minute policy may seem incredibly unfair to riders. After all, what if you live on a top floor or have to wait on a server to cash out? However, if you consider that the driver would previously be unpaid for this time waiting at the pick-up point, it isn’t entirely unreasonable to enable the driver to start the ride after a couple of minutes.
Plus, it’s not like starting the ride early is going to break the bank. A waiting UberX is going to cost you $0.35 per minute in NYC and just $0.10 per minute in Dallas.
Where this policy gets controversial is allowing the driver to cancel the ride after just a two-minute wait. Not only are you left without a ride, but also you’re hit with a $5 or $10 cancellation fee! Hopefully, Uber will eliminate this part of the policy and simply empower drivers to start the ride after a two-minute wait.
While some cities have introduced this new two-minute grace period, other locations still instruct their drivers to allow a 10-minute grace period.
When I drove for Uber, I found this 10-minute grace period to be maddening. If I had already driven 15 minutes to get to the pick-up point and a rider maximized the grace period, I wouldn’t earn a cent for nearly half an hour.
That said, two minutes may be too rider-unfriendly for the policy to stick.
If you haven’t signed up for Uber yet, you can join here and get your first ride free (up to $20).
Source: thepointsguy.com