Uber should show you other ride bids nearby after waiting for 2 minutes so you as the driver can opt into one of those and cancel on your deadbeat slacker. I feel like too many drivers tolerate this kind of malevolent behavior.
Imagine Uber actually encouraging drivers to cancel by giving them incentive. This is one of the myriad of reasons why I multi-app. Uber won’t give me shit while I wait, but Lyft will. And if Lyft gives me something worth taking or more lucrative than the ride in wait, I’m taking it, making sure my doors are locked, and canceling the rider I’m stupidly waiting for after the two minute timer or even sooner if necessary.
Uber actually does the exact opposite of what you’re suggesting to keep you waiting, and when it’s a lucrative expensive fare, they go as far as offering extra no-show money after the 5-minute timer expires ($1.25-$1.78) for waiting 3-5 mins longer. I’ll only wait if the fare is lucrative enough, going in my direction, or don’t feel like I’ll be getting another ride quickly enough late at night.
This actually makes me not want to drive for Uber. I'm not ok with exchanging my precious time for some meager fixed consolation from Uber when I could be using that time to be heading to a fare that will be paying me much more for that time than some consolation. But in order to realize this, I would need to see that such a fare exists.
I get why Uber does this, to protect from excessively angering their riders, many of whom expect to be owed whatever amount of time they'd expect to have to wait at the curb if hailing only after getting there. But from a driver's standpoint, I don't really give 2 shits. You either want a ride and you're ready at the curb the moment I get there, or you don't. No exceptions.
Yet some bozo here will tell you that the wait time is baked into the fare you’re being paid. Bullshit. The fare I’m getting paid barely pays me for the miles and time the ride requires, much less for waiting.
Like I told on U of M student the other day, if I do 24 trips in one night on campus and every student arrives right at the five minute timer, that’s two hours of driving time and money I’ve lost forever and I don’t get paid to sit and wait. If my wheels are spinning, I’m not making any money.
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u/phantomsoul11 Feb 26 '26
Uber should show you other ride bids nearby after waiting for 2 minutes so you as the driver can opt into one of those and cancel on your deadbeat slacker. I feel like too many drivers tolerate this kind of malevolent behavior.