Top questions from driver-partners about the UberPool trial in Perth

Driver-partners cannot opt out of receiving UberPool trip requests while they are receiving UberX requests. However, whether you accept a new UberPool trip request is your choice.

If you also accept UberXL trips, you can toggle off UberX and UberPool in the trip selector, but not just one or the other. 

Drivers who are eligible for Uber Premium will not receive UberPool trip requests.

We want to hear from you as you experience UberPool. We will reach out before the end of the trial with a survey where you can leave feedback. This feedback, as well as rider demand, will help us decide if UberPool should stay in Perth after the trial period. 

Riders are able to request UberPool:

• Monday-Friday, 6am-1am
• Saturday-Sunday, all hours

The service area for UberPool in Perth can be found below. You’ll see that riders cannot request UberPool to or from Perth Airport.

We’ve mapped out particular locations in Perth as safe and efficient places to both pick up and drop off riders. When choosing UberPool, riders agree to walk to or from these set locations. 

If you come across an unsafe location, you can report it directly to our team through your Driver app. Head to the “Help” section, tap “Trip issues and adjustments”, then “Report a bad UberPool pickup or dropoff location”. 

Affordable shared rides mean more riders using the app, which can lead to more trips, less downtime, and more overall earnings for you.

With UberPool, we’ve seen more overall trips for driver-partners. There are new riders who haven’t tried Uber before and try UberPool because it’s a more affordable option, and there are also existing riders who already use Uber and find reasons to use Uber more like commuting to work.

Fares are structured so that how much you earn on an UberPool trip - from picking up your first rider to dropping off your last - is comparable to what you’d earn on an UberX trip of the same time and distance. 

Each rider that you pick up on an UberPool trip will pay an upfront fare, and each upfront fare will have its own Uber service fee. To help keep your earnings from UberPool trips comparable with those from UberX, the service fee will vary so that it is the lowest for your first rider pickup (only one upfront fare), and increase as more riders (i.e. more upfront fares) are added to your trip. 

You’ll be able to see the upfront fare for each rider - plus the applicable Uber service fee - in your waybill, found in the Trip Planner section of your Driver app.

UberPool upfront fares are rarely adjusted. This is because riders cannot change their pickup or dropoff locations after requesting an UberPool trip.

Yes, it does. UberPool surge is linked to UberX surge. This means that if UberX prices surge, UberPool does too – by the same multiplier.

When additional riders are added to your UberPool trip, they are done so automatically. This means you can keep your attention on the road and don’t have to worry about interacting with your phone to accept additional pickups.

The same safety features and support that are available on all Uber trips are still available on UberPool - from 24/7 support to the in-app Safety Toolkit. 

We've seen in other cities with UberPool that the majority of trips are rated 5 stars by both riders and driver-partners. Respect is the foundation of the Uber community and if a rider behaves poorly or breaches the Community Guidelines, we encourage drivers to let us know in the Help section of their Driver app so we take appropriate action.

Riders cannot change their pickup or dropoff locations after requesting an UberPool trip. We will have email communications and messages in the Uber rider app to let riders know this.

If a rider asks you to drop them directly at their destination, kindly remind them that they opted to walk when they chose UberPool. If they insist, you can offer to end the trip early and suggest they request a new UberPool or UberX with their updated destination.

You can only have a maximum of 4 riders in your car at any point with UberPool. If you have 4 riders in your car, your Driver app will make sure not to add additional riders to the trip until you’ve dropped someone off. 

If you are only expecting one person but there’s an additional rider, you can adjust the request in your Driver app. Simply You can also do this if a rider has requested for two people and there is only one person.

Riders can request an UberPool trip for up to two riders. If a rider tries to bring along additional riders that your car doesn’t have room for, you can cancel the trip and kindly suggest they request an UberX ride instead.

Riders will be notified when you are at the pickup location and will have two minutes to meet you. If your rider hasn’t arrived after two minutes, you can cancel the trip - just select ‘Rider no show’. You will receive a cancellation fee, which you will see in your weekly pay statement

You can always consider calling the rider after waiting a minute or so to check in.

If a rider is added to your trip but then cancels, your current UberPool trip can still continue. Keep following the in-app navigation to your next pickup or dropoff location.

At the end of an UberPool trip, you rate each rider separately. The rating screen will appear in the app once you’ve dropped off all your riders – there’s no need to rate riders mid-trip.

Similarly, each rider has the option to provide a rating after they take an UberPool trip. When a rider gives a rating lower than 5, they are shown a list of possible reasons. If the rider selects an option that is out of your control, such as “Route by Uber” or “Had to walk”, it won’t count toward your overall rating.

We also exclude low ratings from riders who consistently give lower ratings.

You may use your preferred navigation app, but Uber Navigation is recommended for UberPool trips. This is for two key reasons:

• Notifications: If you’re in a third party navigation app, some notifications do not come through, like when a new rider is added to the trip or if one of the riders cancels.
• Routing: The Uber navigation will automatically update and re-route you as needed, like when a new rider is added to the trip. If you’re in a third party navigation app, the route may not update automatically.

If you are an iPhone user, you can choose to use Uber Navigation for UberPool and other navigation apps for trips with UberX. Simply go to “Account” in your Driver app, tap “App Settings” then “Navigation” to make the change.

All tolls will be added onto a rider’s fare. Riders will pay for their own tolls if they ride by themselves, or split them equally with every rider who is in the car at the time the toll is incurred.

We have several marketing campaigns planned for the UberPool launch to increase rider awareness and understanding. 

Specifically, we let riders know that they may need to walk a short distance to and from their pickups and/or dropoffs. They can see this in the app before they request a ride with UberPool, and we give them step-by-step instructions on where and when to walk to get picked up, as well as how to get to their final destination.

You can kindly remind the rider that they have opted to share their ride with other riders for a more affordable fare. If they prefer to have a private ride or are running late, you can offer to end their trip early and suggest they request an UberX.

If your rider didn’t mean to request UberPool or would like a door-to-door ride, kindly ask that they cancel their trip and request UberX instead.

If the rider asks you to drive to a different pickup point, explain that with UberPool, they have opted to walk to a pickup spot that cannot be changed. If they want to request a trip from a different location or do not want to walk, they can cancel this trip and re-request an UberX.