California drivers, it’s time for another big announcement from Uber! As we’ve covered over the last few weeks, Uber has rolled out a series of new changes, including new driver features and fare card changes. Today, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal, Uber is announcing even more changes related to its fare multiplier. Essentially, at certain airports, Uber drivers will be able to set their own prices.

Before we get into that exciting news, some background. By now, all drivers in California should be able to see where their passengers are going and see estimated earnings when they get a request. In addition, all drivers have the surge multiplier and Quest Bonus in the form of a lower service fee. The new driver features were released by Uber in December 2019, and fare card features were released in early January 2020.

Over the next two weeks, Uber will be rolling out more changes to the ways drivers determine their own pay – starting with today’s announcement for drivers in Palm Springs, Sacramento and Santa Barbara.

There are two main components to the upcoming changes:

1. Drivers picking up at the Palm Springs, Sacramento and Santa Barbara airports will be able to set their own price (via multiplier) at the airport or just outside of the airport. Drivers can set their prices higher, lower, or the same as Uber’s price.
2. Drivers will be able to opt out of surge – drivers can set their multiplier from the airport and choose to not accept surge pricing.

Drivers won’t see all of these changes at once – first, they’ll only affect drivers picking up at those three airports. Second, the opt out of surge feature won’t come for another week or so. Uber may roll this out slowly to other California drivers and airports, but with a change this huge, it’s not going to happen at LAX tomorrow.

So let’s break down how this works and what drivers can expect to see soon!

At The Rideshare Guy, we strive to break all the latest rideshare news down for you FIRST so all you have to do is sit back and drive. If you want to stay informed and up to date, sign up today to get The Rideshare Guy newsletter here.

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Cargo, the snack vending machine box in your car, abruptly announced it was ceasing its snack boxes and going in a different direction. We had senior RSG contributor Paula Gibbins investigate the sudden change and share what other drivers are doing with their leftover Cargo snacks.

Many of you may have already heard that Cargo is ending its snack service. What you may not realize is that Cargo is still sticking around in some fashion, just not what you’re used to. Instead of the box filled with snacks that drivers can put in their vehicles to make a little side money, Cargo has paired with Uber in a cartop display program.

Cargo’s website homepage boasts, “We’ll install a display on top of your vehicle which shows ads while you drive. Make extra cash, even when you’re not taking Uber trips.”

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Uber has been rolling out some big changes to the driver experience lately and today, they made another HUGE announcement – they are getting rid of upfront pricing and flat rate surge for drivers in California! But before we dig into all the details of this latest announcement, some background. By now, all drivers in California should be able to see where their passengers are going and see estimated earnings when they get a request. These new driver features were released by Uber in December 2019 and they garnered an overwhelmingly positive response from drivers. Nice work Uber!

Over the next couple weeks, Uber will be rolling out even more changes to the way drivers are paid and I’m glad to say that mile and minute rates will not be changing. If you’re outside of California, you might be wondering when these changes will come to you and the good news is that Uber has indicated that while these changes will only apply to California drivers for now, depending on how they’re received, they could eventually roll out nationwide.

There are three main components to these changes, which we will outline below. They are:

1. No more Upfront Pricing – what passengers pay will again be coupled to what drivers receive
2. No more Flat Rate Surge – Uber is going back to a surge multiplier
3. Quest Bonus will now offer a lower service fee, instead of a bonus

If you don’t see all of the changes at once, don’t worry. Uber has said the Quest changes will likely roll out last, but all drivers in California should see these changes by the end of next week. Uber is implementing a city by city rollout for these changes with smaller to medium sized cities getting the new fare structure first and then all the big cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc getting them later.

At The Rideshare Guy, we strive to break all the latest rideshare news down for you FIRST so all you have to do is sit back and drive. If you want to stay informed and up to date, sign up today to get The Rideshare Guy newsletter here.

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