Uber driver app drivers#
To keep their take-home pay up, drivers are taking to 'multi-apping' - using other ride-hailing services such as Bolt and FreeNow at the same - in order to pick-up the highest fare.īut it means passengers waiting for an Uber are regularly having rides accepted, only to have them cancelled while the driver is en-route. Uber increased the service rate from 20 to 25 per cent for thousands of drivers after Supreme Court judges in the UK ruled the company must give its workers benefits such as holiday pay. Meanwhile, drivers are said to be furious about changes to their pay deal with Uber, meaning they are now having to fork a larger chunk of their fare to the San Francisco-based tech firm. This, drivers say, has led to an increase in the use of 'surge charging' - where the app automatically ups fare prices due to a spike in demand. It is understood that 'thousands' of drivers have quit the ride-hailing app since the start of the pandemic, with many now working for takeaway delivery firms such as JustEat, Deliveroo and sister firm UberEats.Īnd while Uber says it is launching a recruitment campaign to up its numbers, current drivers say many who left during last year's lockdowns are yet to return. On top of that, Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes are making it harder for taxi drivers to reach their customers, discouraging them from accepting fares.įrustrated Uber customers are facing higher fares and longer waits for a pick-up because of a perfect storm of driver shortages, surge pricing and so-called 'multi-apping', MailOnline can today reveal. Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes causing a nightmare It means if you are far away from a group of drivers, and it is a short trip, it may not be economically viable for them to pick you p. But it also means drivers can cancel trips enroute to pick-ups if they find a better fare, leaving users facing a longer wait.īecause Uber does not pay its drivers to get to a customers, drivers say short trips which take a long time to get to aren't worthwhile. This allows them to pick and choose the best fares. Uber drivers are allowed to use rival ride-hailing apps at the same time. With less Uber drivers around, surging happens more, drivers say. The app automatically raises prices to match increased demand. Uber says it wants to recruit 20,000 new drivers by the end of 2021.Ī lack of drivers has led to an increase in surge pricing, some say. Many drivers are understood to have swapped taxi driving for takeaway deliveries following a huge drop in demand for cabs during lockdown. Uber has lost thousands of drivers since the start of the Covid pandemic, according to those working with the service.