Uber rolls out up-front fares in India, to replace surge pricing


Uber new logo

In a bid to make it easier for customers to see how much they will have to pay for a ride, Uber has rolled out up-front fares in India and the US.

Uber users will now have to enter their destination before requesting a ride. The app will then calculate the fare on the basis of expected travel time, distance, traffic, surge and tolls where applicable. The rate will also depend on how many riders and nearby drivers are using Uber at that moment.

The updated Uber app will now do away with the lightning-bolt icon that was used until now to indicate surge pricing. Uber mentions that fares will still fluctuate when rates go up due to demand. Hundreds of thousands of riders have experienced upfront fares as part of this rollout, added Uber.

The upfront feature was introduced with uberPool which accounts for over 20 percent of all rides globally. Uber says it has learnt that riders appreciate knowing how much a ride will cost in advance and is therefore rolling out this feature globally. The upfront feature is now expanding to uberGo as well as uberX. In India 25 per cent of Uber’s rides in Delhi and Bengaluru are through uberPOOL, as per a PTI report.

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.


Author: Sneha Bokil

Sneha Bokil is a tech enthusiast and is currently using OnePlus 3T but she still treasures her Nokia N70 (M). You can follow her on Twitter @snehabokil and on Google+