To California drivers: keeping you in the driver’s seat, Part 2

We are simplifying our fare structure to further clarify the relationship between you and your riders, and Uber’s role as a technology platform. Starting this week, Uber will take a fixed percentage Service Fee on the fare that a rider pays you on every trip (UberPool excluded). On UberX trips, this fee will be 25%. On other trip types, such as UberXL, Comfort, SUV, and Lux, this fixed service fee will be 28%. See information about UberPool Service Fees below under “How are Service Fees calculated for UberPool trips?”.

Yes. On the new offer card, you’ll be able to see the exact percentage Service Fee that Uber will charge on every trip, right below the estimated fare range (UberPool excluded). This will be the same Service Fee that you’ll see on the trip receipt.

The rider pays you, the driver, a fare for every trip. Uber then charges you a fixed-percentage Service Fee on that fare for your use of the Uber app in connecting you with your passenger. The Service Fee goes toward funding our platform’s operations, and supports innovation that allows Uber to connect more riders and drivers.

For non-Pool trips, you will continue to earn based on the actual time and distance of the trip. Time and distance rates haven’t changed and you will continue to earn as normal. Uber’s Service Fee will not exceed 25% for UberX trips, and it will not exceed 28% for  UberXL, Comfort, SUV, and Lux trips. 

The amount you earn for Surge will now match the amount a rider pays in Surge on every trip, less Uber’s fixed Service Fee. This means that drivers will now earn multiples of the fare (base, time and distance) when it’s busy and riders pay more for a trip. You will be able to see the Surge multiples (e.g. 1.8x) highlighted in orange on your map.

Yes, the fare estimate you see on the offer card will include any Surge multiples that are being applied. You’ll also see the Surge icon next to the fare range to indicate that Surge is being factored into the estimate.

For Pool trips, you will now see an exact fare, rather than an estimated fare range, on every trip offer card. This exact fare is based on our best estimate of the time, distance, and likelihood of finding additional passengers to join your Pool trip. On subsequent pickup opportunities within each Pool trip, you’ll see another offer card that will include additional fares for completing each leg of the trip.  

Yes. Previously, you earned a small fixed amount for every additional passenger you pickup on your Pool trip. Starting this week, you will earn for each additional passenger’s fare that you pick up, less Uber’s Service Fee. You’ll be able to see the exact amount you can earn for each Pool leg, as well as their pickup and dropoff locations, on every Pool offer card.

The Service Fee on UberPool trips will vary based on the efficiency of the match. This is based on factors like whether or not you match with additional passengers, how many passengers, and how much time on route is shared between passengers. The Service Fee will not exceed 45% on any individual Pool segment, and will be clearly displayed on your receipt.  

Until January 2020 in California, the Booking Fee was a flat fee charged to the rider on your behalf that Uber collected from you. As of January 2020, Uber charges a separate fee (called the Marketplace Fee) to riders directly, to connect parties within the marketplace. This fee is separate from the trip fare or any other rider payment to the driver, and does not impact the amount you take home on each trip.

Because drivers are Uber’s customers, Driver promotions will now come in the form of lower Service Fees rather than additional direct payments to you. Now you can earn reductions in your fixed Service Fee percentage, to as little as 1% of the trip fare. 

The new Quest promotion for drivers in California will allow you to earn a lower Service Fee after completing a predetermined number of trips. This will replace the old version, where you could earn a promo payment for completing a certain number of trips. You’ll still be able to choose a Quest that’s best for you during every selection window, and the promotion periods are not changing. If you do not choose a Quest offer before the selection window closes, you will not be eligible for the lower Service Fee promotion for that period.

The new Boost promotion will allow you to earn a lower Service Fee on trips in busy times and places. The promotion times, locations, and Service Fee reductions will be outlined in a weekly email, and will also appear on your map and offer card when active. This will replace the Consecutive Trips promotion, in which the terms required you to complete three trips in a row during specified times and places in order to earn a promo payment. Unlike the new Quest promotion, you won’t need to take any other action to activate your Boost promotion. 

These features are in response to feedback from drivers and the passing of new laws in the state of California. Some changes will take some getting used to. On balance, we are confident that they will improve your experience on our platform.

Yes, these features are available to California drivers only. As with all feature launches, we will monitor the effects of the change to ensure the experience is working properly and doesn’t create any unintended issues for drivers or riders. We will continue to evaluate expanding these features beyond California in the future.