Uber and Drivers Blame Increased Demand and Costs of Fuel for Cancellations

tsunamisurfer on 08/07/2022 - 16:34

This really takes the cake, do Uber and their drivers think the Australian public are fooled by this news?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-06/uber-cancellations-qu…

Uber suggests that increase in passenger demand causes trip cancellations. I don't see how that is related, if a driver has accepted Job A why would there be a cause for a cancellation? There are always other jobs in the pipeline. If a driver is in a job, they should have no visibility of other available jobs.

Drivers suggest that increases in petrol costs cause trip cancellations. In their example to defend their position, they don't want to drive 20 mins for a 5 minute job, I agree that doesn't make sense, so DON'T accept the job.

I love this part from Uber.

Uber was not able to provide the ABC with any data on the number of cancelled trips by drivers over the past 12 months.

A tech company that doesn't have a grasp of their data? Just say we aren't telling you.

The Uber logic should be changed per the below :

  • If a driver cancels once on a day, they cannot accept a new job for an hour. If they cancel twice, they are breached and suspended for 24 hours.
  • Cancellations do not factor into the Surge algorithm ever. I get surge pricing is a thing and understand where demand outstrips supply significantly. However not when its manipulated.
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Comments

  • KaTst3R on 08/07/2022 - 16:58
    +8

    The solution is….. don't take an Uber? Remember the times we survived before ride hailing and food delivery apps.

  • whichtyler on 08/07/2022 - 16:58
    +1

    to defend their position, they don't want to drive 20 mins for a 5 minute job, I agree that doesn't make sense, so DON'T accept the job.

    Is it not the case that they don't know the trip length until they accept it?

    • TheBird on 08/07/2022 - 17:09
      +4

      AFAIK, that's right. They don't know the job before they accept it… which makes no sense. I wouldn't drive 20 mins to a 5 min job.

      The Uber logic should be changed per the below :
      If a driver cancels once on a day, they cannot accept a new job for an hour. If they cancel twice, they are breached and suspended for 24 hours.

      Uber should show the drivers the details of the job before the driver decides to accept or not. If you start suspending drivers, you'll end up with passengers with no drivers in short order.

      • timthetoolman on 08/07/2022 - 19:09

        That defeats the purpose of their upside entirely. When they came on to the scene people were sick of being asked by cab drivers how far they were going and then being denied coz it was too close.

    • AustriaBargain on 08/07/2022 - 17:35
      +2

      Uber should pay a bit more for those rides to the driver, even if it doesn't cost the user more. Not every single ride should be profitable for Uber. Like running a bar, it will be unprofitable in the middle of the day, it will be insanely profitable in the evening and night, but the workers all get paid the same for each hour regardless.

      • SBOB on 08/07/2022 - 17:46
        +1

        Not every single ride should be profitable for Uber

        Pretty sure no ride is profitable for Uber….
        Have they had a profitable EPS quarter yet :)

        • AustriaBargain on 08/07/2022 - 17:48
          +1

          They will be making mad profits when they control the market and transition to self driving vehicles.

          • SBOB on 08/07/2022 - 18:00
            +1

            @AustriaBargain: Is the promise they made to all venture capitalists whose money they are spending ;)

          • Mechz on 08/07/2022 - 18:31

            @AustriaBargain: Yes because they'll never get vandalsed or end up in rivers like the scooters and share bikes.

    • tsunamisurfer on 08/07/2022 - 17:37

      Are the others like DiDi and OLA like that or just Uber?

      • whichtyler on 08/07/2022 - 19:22

        I think it varies from service to service.

      • Lovemydeals on 08/07/2022 - 22:59

        The first & last experience I had with OLA was being assigned a driver & I watched him drive away from our collection point for around 30mins & then appeared to have parked his car. We tried contacting him but didnt get a response.

        We then cancelled the trip & messaged OLA about the dodgy driver. Luckily OLA didnt charge us for the cancelled trip.

        DiDi is okay but a lot less availability.

  • SF3 on 08/07/2022 - 17:28
    +1

    A typical corporate PR response - weasel words that tells you nothing that you don't already know.

    They are there to protect themselves, not the customer.

  • zombrex on 08/07/2022 - 19:29

    Drivers cancel all the time and have done so for a long time, they just use multiple accounts and phones. There are groups of drivers who also share accounts.

  • JimmyF on 08/07/2022 - 19:43

    I agree that doesn't make sense, so DON'T accept the job

    Drivers don't know the details until they accept the job.

    • tsunamisurfer on 08/07/2022 - 21:09

      Then the system is flawed.

      Either give them visibility or remove their ability to cancel (to game the system).

      • JimmyF on 08/07/2022 - 22:22
        +1

        Then the system is flawed.

        Its Uber, of course it is flawed! Hence why the company has NEVER made a profit to date (true fact).

        Go back a few years ago and the driver wouldn't even know where the pax was going until you started the trip once the pax was in the car.

        A recent change for 'higher' ranked drivers was to bring some details about the trip, how long the trip will be and what direction it is going. So these drivers should be a bit selective, but the problem is to keep seeing them, you have to accept more than 5 out of 10 trips. So if you get too picky, you hit a catch 22 that you can't not accept the trip as you won't see the details any more so this brings us to

        Either give them visibility or remove their ability to cancel (to game the system).

        Drivers can cancel or not accept but it impacts their rating etc. It is way better for them to get the pax to cancel as the pax pays a cancel fee that the driver gets to pocket most of (uber takes a cut too).

        So yeah 100% agree, Uber system is flawed indeed, but then so are the drivers who want to cherry pick all the best jobs too. Its a no win outcome as gone are the days of what Uber was really all about.

  • AirbusA389 on 08/07/2022 - 20:09

    plenty of uber driver exchanging ideas on uber people forums.. i chanced upon these threads when i was looking for a side hustle.

    i can understand that drivers might not make enough with the current petrol prices. that doesnt justify drivers choosing long trips only and leave everyone else stranded, and triggering the surge pricing mechanism. Either way the customer get the short end.

    here we go:
    https://www.uberpeople.net/threads/cancellations.462338/page…

    • matbargain on 09/07/2022 - 08:37

      Of course it justifies drivers choosing long trips. Why would they take a loss-generating job? Uber needs to fairly pay, or the consumer needs figure out another way home for short trips. Taxi's and Ubers are not charities or government subsidised, this is their living.

  • Lovemydeals on 08/07/2022 - 23:06
    +2

    All the recent bad press about uber drivers would be the perfect opportunity for large taxi companies to make internal changes, have a decent booking app, offer rates slightly higher than uber and they would have more trade.

    Taxis always seemed to have too heavily relied on business travelers - traveling on corporate dime with the taxi companies not improving services & now from the reduced travel, corporate offices working from home their business has decreased.

    • kev98 on 09/07/2022 - 10:55
      +1

      If there is a taxi cab rank / I am in city I always go with the taxi. If I am somewhere away from a main road / in the suburbs I usually use Uber as it is more convenient to book.

  • bobbified on 10/07/2022 - 12:43

    that increase in passenger demand causes trip cancellations. I don't see how that is related, if a driver has accepted Job A why would there be a cause for a cancellation?

    Perhaps an increase in demand means that the driver has more "choice". If they cancel a the shorter trip they've accepted (they only know it's short after they've accepted), there's a good chance that they'll probably get one that is longer that will make them more money.

  • Excelsior on 11/07/2022 - 11:50

    Booked Uber to send a package, driver accepts. Before arriving to pick it up, he calls and literally asks for more money because "the fee is too low".

    Wtf??

  • gaz1234 on 19/07/2022 - 23:54

    They do that all the time to get higher surge pay

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