Uber will pay drivers extra to put up with annoying teenagers
Hey there, loyal Uber driver! Feel like picking up some passengers today? Great! How about some rascally teenagers?
No? Oh, well, hmm, what if we paid you $2 more?
Buried in the June 20 announcement that Uber will finally allow tipping was a little nugget sure to grab the attention of harried drivers everywhere: Uber will now pass on part of the surcharge for teen rides to drivers.
"For teen account trips," the company explained in an email sent to drivers, "$2 will be added to the base fare and you'll earn more for those rides."
That's right, Uber is totally paying drivers more to put up with teenagers. This charge itself is not new, but Uber is now finally sharing that fee with its drivers. Apparently the company realized its drivers needed an extra incentive to pick up teen passengers.
And what, exactly, are teen accounts? This past March Uber unveiled a new way for people under the age of 18 to hail rides. The idea is that kids over 13 years old can join their parents' Family Profile, and parents are able track their children's location as the kids ride.
The program debuted in Seattle, Phoenix, and Columbus, and immediately generated some driver pushback.
“I certainly don’t have anything against teenagers,” one driver who opted out of picking up teenagers, Craig Gibson, told GeekWire at the time. “I have one, so nothing like that, but there is an increased liability when you’re driving somebody’s child around and the potential that could go bad there. If a child says you’ve done something inappropriate, the repercussions are almost immediately more serious and the shockwave quicker, so there is an increased risk there and Uber’s done absolutely nothing to lessen that.”
While Gibson's concerns regarding chauffeuring around unaccompanied minors are certainly legitimate, perhaps he wasn't aware of that sweet bonus $2 per ride he'd be getting?
We're sure that news will make all the difference.
Topics Uber
