Uber is testing a brand new characteristic that may permit you to determine pricing to your journey, right here’s the way it works

Uber is at present testing a brand new pricing service referred to as ‘Uber Flex, ‘as reported by TechCrunch, in over a dozen cities in India. This service permits commuters to bid for a selected fare for his or her journey, giving them better management over the pricing.
Uber Flex was launched final yr in October and has since expanded to extra cities. It has since expanded to over 12 cities, together with Ajmer, Aurangabad, Bareilly, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Gwalior, Indore, Jodhpur, Surat, and others.Initially, it was launched for cabs and later prolonged to auto-rickshaw rides.
“We’re piloting this characteristic in a number of the Tier 2 and three markets in India at present,” an Uber spokesperson informed TechCrunch. In accordance with the report, the corporate is planning to launch this service quickly within the metro cities of India, together with Delhi and Mumbai.
How Uber’s Flex pricing works, and is completely different from its rival
This new ‘Uber Flex’ pricing system differs from the usual dynamic pricing mannequin utilized by Uber. As a substitute of fluctuating costs based mostly on provide and demand, Uber Flex affords 9 fastened pricing factors for riders to select from. As soon as a fare is chosen, it’s then shared with close by drivers, who can select to simply accept or reject the journey based mostly on the fare. This permits riders to pick out a fare that fits their funds and provides drivers the choice to simply accept a journey that’s worthwhile for them.

InDrive, one in every of Uber’s rivals in India, permits riders to manually enter a selected fare, which may end up in drivers feeling underpaid attributable to passengers providing low costs for his or her rides. To deal with this difficulty, Uber has carried out measures equivalent to not permitting passengers to set a selected fare manually within the flex-pricing mode and setting a cap on the bottom fare.
Uber Flex is offered for Uber Go rides and intercity cabs in some cities. In some cities, it’s even supplied for premier cabs and auto-rickshaw rides.
Along with India, Uber is testing its versatile pricing mannequin, Flex, in varied different markets world wide, equivalent to Lebanon, Kenya, and Latin America.
Uber is testing different new companies in India, equivalent to Uber Taxis in Mumbai and a Wait & Save mannequin in Mumbai, Guwahati, and Chandigarh. Uber Taxis affords conventional taxi drivers as an choice, whereas Wait & Save permits passengers to pre-book a journey at a decrease fare.