Originally Posted by
davie355
I took an UberX from SEA to downtown Seattle and my receipt showed a $0.37 "per-minute wait time fee" in addition to the upfront quote.
I had stood in the airport pickup area, waved at the driver as he came down the ramp, and entered the vehicle right after it pulled into the parking space. I made no stops en route. I had no luggage, so no time can be attributed to even opening and closing the trunk.
So either $0.37 is a hidden fee for all SEA pickups, or my driver started the meter prematurely.
If it's listed as "wait time", then it was before the driver started the trip.
The way it's supposed to work (from the drivers veiw):
Uber tracks the drivers progress towards the rider. Once Uber decides the driver has arrived, the driver sees a "rider notified" pop-up.
That pop-up starts a 2 minute timer. At the end of the 2 minutes (if the driver has yet to "start the ride"), another pop-up asks the driver if they would like to cancel. This 2nd pop-up also starts the per minute "wait fee" to be charged to the customer.
This is to help compensate the driver in cases where the rider isn't ready to go. The rate differs in each market, but in PHX, I get a whole whopping 6 cents a minute. At the 2 minute mark, I let the "wait" timer start and text the rider. At 5 minutes, the driver can cancel for "no show" and collect a cancel fee. If the rider never responded, then this is when I cancel. In PHX I'd get $3.25 (or is it $3.75 ??), so I' guessing the rider "no show" charge is about $5.50
As for Uber deciding the "driver has arrived", it has issues. Many times I see the "Rider Notified" pop-up before I'm there ... and in a position to do the pickup.
PHX airport is good for false (pre-mature) "arrived" pop-ups....
Terminal 4, drop-offs can be anywhere but are typically om the upper (departures) level. Pick-ups can only be in on the lower level, outside curb in the designated area.
Terminals 2 & 3, drop-offs are typically the inner curb and pick-ups the outter curb in the designated area (there is only one roadway level).
Many times, I get a new pick-up request as I'm entering the airport on a drop-off. Once I swipe "end trip", I immediately get the "rider notified" pop-up. I might be literally above the new rider (T4) or just a few lanes over, behind the outer curb where the rider is standing (T2 &3). Uber sees me physically 50 feet away, so marks me as arrived, but to get to the designated riseshare pick-up zone is going to require me to circle the terminal, likely busting thru the 2 minute "wait grace".
Before you ask, picking up outside the rideshare zone is a $500 fine and it is heavily monitored.
Busy downtown streets, one-way streets, large buildings with multiple entrances, Uber Nav telling me to do u-turns at intersections marked "no u-turn" are other situations that can create a variation of the above.