Passengers using taxi aggregator Uber will soon start seeing an upfront fare instead of having to do “mental math” to calculate what the fare would be at the end of the trip.
These upfront fares, being rolled out across the country and in the U.S. will be based on various factors, including surge pricing wherever it is applicable, Uber said in a blog post. A system, adopted earlier for the UberPOOL model two years ago, the company has been rolling out this system for UberX rides since April in the U.S. and more recently across India. “To date, hundreds of thousands of riders have experienced upfront fares as part of this rollout,” the post adds.
In Karnataka, the aggregator has already given an undertaking not to apply their surge pricing model while it argues against the recently introduced aggregator rules in the High Court till the time the court rules in the matter.
In the absence of surge pricing, this means that Uber users in the State will see the fares calculated based on the expected time and distance of the trip and traffic on the route.
The company is hoping that customers will be more comfortable with knowing the prices upfront which would change only if the customer changes the destination or applies a promo code. However, in the future, this upfront pricing could also take into account surge pricing should Uber introduce it again in the State if the High Court rules in their favour.
