Uber has quietly added a $2 booking fee to its taxi-hailing feature, UberT -- just in time for Christmas. Now any time a user books a ride using UberT (also known as UberTaxi), there's an extra fee automatically tacked onto the bill.
UberT allows users to hail non-Uber yellow or green boro cabs (the only ones you can legally hail on the street in non-Manhattan boroughs). This differs from UberX, which hails the company's own non-limo drivers.
"Starting today, December 24, all completed uberT trips trips will be subject to a $2 booking fee," reads a message sent to UberT customers. "The fee is a small change added to UberT trips on behalf of yellow and boro taxi drivers who utilize the Uber platform."
ok NOW I will delete uber pic.twitter.com/E5veEQmnbg— Veronica de Souza (@HeyVeronica) December 24, 2014
How exactly this decision is "on behalf" of cab drivers is unclear. After all, Uber is the one charging the money through its system -- and the money's going directly into Uber's pockets. In the email, Uber is sure to remind customers that UberX is a cheaper alternative.
"There is no fee associated with UberT for drivers, however to cover costs associated with provisioning the platform, riders are subject to a $2 booking fee that is passed through the driver to Uber," an Uber spokesperson told Mashable in an email.
This isn't the first time Uber has introduced questionable booking charges. It did so in Chicago, for example, as well as Washington, D.C.
Some critics of Uber have pointed out that Uber may be trying to undercut the New York City taxi industry. Earlier this month, city lawmakers introduced legislation so that cab drivers could have their own e-hailing app to compete with services like Uber and Lyft.