# Can anyone define the booking fee?



## Papa (May 14, 2015)

Uber defines the booking fee as:

The booking fee, previously known as the Safe Rides Fee, is a separate flat fee added to every trip that helps support safety initiatives for riders and drivers as well as other operational costs.

Before you respond to this thread, do a little research on this topic...please!!!

After some due diligence, post your comments....

NOTE: Try to find the ***** in this armor...............................


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## RichR (Feb 12, 2016)

Unsure what you're looking for here. But, at the risk of your saying my research is lacking, I'll give it a shot.

The booking fee is a fixed amount that Uber extracts from each rider before the driver gets anything.

[EDIT: Uber uses it to recover the cost of background checks, etc. That's the "safety" part of it. I believe they stopped calling it the "Safe Ride Fee" because their sharp legal team determined that implies anyone who pays the fee is guaranteed a safe ride.]


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## Dang (Feb 2, 2016)

Papa said:


> Uber defines the booking fee as:
> 
> The booking fee, previously known as the Safe Rides Fee, is a separate flat fee added to every trip that helps support safety initiatives for riders and drivers as well as other operational costs.
> 
> ...


booking fee means once u place an order from the uber app u pay that fee for the app service. that way they have the money to pay for their uber app gps server. and future app updates.


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## Darrell (Dec 27, 2015)

I always thought the safe rider / booking fee was to cover the drivers Uber insurance. That's what I thought the safe part meant as in the rider is riding safely because the driver is "fully" insured.


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## Papa (May 14, 2015)

RichR said:


> Unsure what you're looking for here. But, at the risk of your saying my research is lacking, I'll give it a shot.
> 
> The booking fee is a fixed amount that Uber extracts from each rider before the driver gets anything.
> 
> [EDIT: Uber uses it to recover the cost of background checks, etc. That's the "safety" part of it. I believe they stopped calling it the "Safe Ride Fee" because their sharp legal team determined that implies anyone who pays the fee is guaranteed a safe ride.]


Not trying to test anyone here...just creating dialogue...watch the responses closely. There are already great responses, but the potential ***** has not been identified yet.

Extracts...Yes...but why? What's the 25 - 28% partner fee for???

Uber was sued for the safe rider fee, and settled...so they were forced to change the definition. But again, what's the partner fee for?


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## Papa (May 14, 2015)

Dang said:


> booking fee means once u place an order from the uber app u pay that fee for the app service. that way they have the money to pay for their uber app gps server. and future app updates.


What's the partnership fee for, 25 - 28%??? Watch the great responses coming. I provided Uber's definition....


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## Papa (May 14, 2015)

Darrell said:


> I always thought the safe rider / booking fee was to cover the drivers Uber insurance. That's what I thought the safe part meant as in the rider is riding safely because the driver is "fully" insured.


I believe you are correct. At least that was when it was a safe rider fee....

However, that's not the potential *****....Uber's definition was provided above....


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## Papa (May 14, 2015)

Safety initiatives, huh???

Other Operational costs???

What's the partner fee for??? But that's not the potential ***** either...


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## Mountainsoloist (Nov 16, 2015)

I thought it was used to raise the percentage of their commission on short rides to make up for the rate cuts.


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## Stygge (Jan 9, 2016)

It's just a flat fee per ride. Why are you so difficult?


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## Papa (May 14, 2015)

Stygge said:


> It's just a flat fee per ride. Why are you so difficult?


Really, that's all it is??? So, let me get this right...you're okay with paying a 25% Fee, plus and additional $1.75 Fee off your gross (Atlanta is $1.75), for what use to be a "Safe Rider Fee"??? What has Uber done for you in terms of a safety initiatives? Gap Insurance so you can give them 25% plus of your earnings???

DIFFICULT??? It's a damn blog??? It's a question raised to generate opinions. If you think I'm difficult, ignore the post. It's drones like you that make me get vicious and off topic, and on your ignorant ass!!!

Oh wait, maybe the additional operational costs are the settlements being offered to cover the rape being performed on you...

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/t...-suit-over-safety-background-checks.html?_r=0

Uber has agreed to pay $28.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that took issue with the company's claims that its driver background checks were "industry leading."

The terms of the settlement, filed on Thursday in the United States District Court in the Northern District of California, require Uber to pay roughly 25 million riders across the United States and to reword the language around the fee that the company charges for each ride.

Uber will rename the fee, called the "safe ride fee," to a "booking fee." The ride-hailing company said it would use the fee to "cover safety as well as additional operational costs that could arise in the future." Lyft, a main Uber rival, has made a similar change, Uber said.


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## ABC123DEF (Jun 9, 2015)

- Booking fee = a tip that Foober gives itself

- 20-28% Commission = another tip that Foober gives itself

- Airport pickup fee = yet another tip that Foober deservedly(?) gives itself

- Miscellaneous questionable BS fees for any old reason = a final chance for Foober to tip itself
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*What's left from an already low fare for you? = CRUMBS!*


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## Stygge (Jan 9, 2016)

Papa said:


> Really, that's all it is??? So, let me get this right...you're okay with paying a 25% Fee, plus and additional $1.75 Fee off your gross (Atlanta is $1.75), for what use to be a "Safe Rider Fee"??? What has Uber done for you in terms of a safety initiatives? Gap Insurance so you can give them 25% plus of your earnings???
> 
> DIFFICULT??? It's a damn blog??? It's a question raised to generate opinions. If you think I'm difficult, ignore the post. It's drones like you that make me get vicious and off topic, and on your ignorant ass!!!
> 
> ...


Yes. It's all it is. Instead they could increase the uber fee to 30% or whatever. I agree the fees are high but not much to do about it. I would be happy as a clam with the booking fee and 10% uber fee.


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## Papa (May 14, 2015)

Stygge said:


> Yes. It's all it is. Instead they could increase the uber fee to 30% or whatever. I agree the fees are high but not much to do about it. I would be happy as a clam with the booking fee and 10% uber fee.


You have missed the point of the thread, and are clearly way out of your league for this discussion...It's not just a damn flat fee...


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## Stygge (Jan 9, 2016)

You appear very angry and aggressive. What's the issue?
- The name of the fee?
- A flat fee per ride?
- Fees in general?

If it's the name you're just silly. Apparently it was a bad choice to call it Safe Rider fee. Booking fee is more neutral and it can just go in to the general revenue stream without implying it's earmarked for any particular purpose.


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## Papa (May 14, 2015)

Stygge said:


> You appear very angry and aggressive. What's the issue?
> - The name of the fee?
> - A flat fee per ride?
> - Fees in general?
> ...


I was angry because you commented that I was being difficult. No worries, I understand now that the thread was just too difficult for you to comprehend...and with your questions and comments above, I can now clearly understand why...Hang around, you might learn something from the conversation as it grows. For now, I suggest you refrain from commenting until you can catch up...


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## Papa (May 14, 2015)

Stygge said:


> You appear very angry and aggressive. What's the issue?
> - The name of the fee?
> - A flat fee per ride?
> - Fees in general?
> ...


See if this helps...Remember, due diligence before commenting to avoid emotional outbursts:

READ, READ, READ, then re-read the original thread and see if you could put together a logical response or comment worthy of consideration...

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/t...-suit-over-safety-background-checks.html?_r=0

Uber has agreed to pay $28.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that took issue with the company's claims that its driver background checks were "industry leading."

The terms of the settlement, filed on Thursday in the United States District Court in the Northern District of California, require Uber to pay roughly 25 million riders across the United States and to reword the language around the fee that the company charges for each ride.

Uber will rename the fee, called the "safe ride fee," to a "booking fee." The ride-hailing company said it would use the fee to "cover safety as well as additional operational costs that could arise in the future." Lyft, a main Uber rival, has made a similar change, Uber said.


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## Stygge (Jan 9, 2016)

Papa said:


> See if this helps...Remember, due diligence before commenting to avoid emotional outbursts:
> 
> READ, READ, READ, then re-read the original thread and see if you could put together a logical response or comment worthy of consideration...
> 
> ...


OK. Stay safe and remember to wear your tin foil hat.


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## NuberUber (Dec 28, 2015)

Stygge said:


> You appear very angry and aggressive. What's the issue?
> - The name of the fee?
> - A flat fee per ride?
> - Fees in general?
> ...


I do see the point he has here. Why do you have an issue with the "booking fee"? Is it the name itself or the fact that it is another fee on the fare? Not too sure what you are trying to get at and it would probably be clarified by you coming out to state your issue with it.


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## volksie (Apr 8, 2015)

Papa said:


> Uber defines the booking fee as:
> 
> The booking fee, previously known as the Safe Rides Fee, is a separate flat fee added to every trip that helps support safety initiatives for riders and drivers as well as other operational costs.
> 
> ...


IT'S A MANDATORY TIP! When riders bring up tipping, I remind them that they're forced to pay "THE BILLIONAIRE'S TIP"! I also remind them that this CEO has told them "There Is No Need To Tip Your Driver".


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## bestpals (Aug 22, 2015)

It actually is the Legal theft of the drivers money. Any way they put it, it is stealing from the drivers. Without the drivers this company would not exist but they think were garbage and treat us as such. Problem is most drivers think of themselves like this and keep driving for this company no matter what and make up excuses as to why they do so so they can justify it.


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## galileo5 (Jan 16, 2016)

Booking fee is just bullshit fee to get more money from the fare.


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## galileo5 (Jan 16, 2016)

AND it's a fee that the DRIVER PAYS. Passengers do not pay the booking fee!
It's another way for Uber to screw its drivers.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

bestpals said:


> It actually is the Legal theft of the drivers money. Any way they put it, it is stealing from the drivers. Without the drivers this company would not exist but they think were garbage and treat us as such. Problem is most drivers think of themselves like this and keep driving for this company no matter what and make up excuses as to why they do so so they can justify it.


.50 cents of the $1.90 booking fee on my market is tax..50 cents per ride tax is paid to the city.so when I do 30 rides a day,the city makes $15.00 tax.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Papa said:


> Really, that's all it is??? So, let me get this right...you're okay with paying a 25% Fee, plus and additional $1.75 Fee off your gross (Atlanta is $1.75), for what use to be a "Safe Rider Fee"??? What has Uber done for you in terms of a safety initiatives? Gap Insurance so you can give them 25% plus of your earnings???
> 
> DIFFICULT??? It's a damn blog??? It's a question raised to generate opinions. If you think I'm difficult, ignore the post. It's drones like you that make me get vicious and off topic, and on your ignorant ass!!!
> 
> ...


All right,let's rename it the " GIMMIE DAT ! " FEE.


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## Papa (May 14, 2015)

tohunt4me said:


> .50 cents of the $1.90 booking fee on my market is tax..50 cents per ride tax is paid to the city.so when I do 30 rides a day,the city makes $15.00 tax.


This is interesting, do you have a reference you can provide that specifically states that 4.50 goes to the tax? I haven't seen this anywhere in the U.S...If you can find something, I'd be very grateful.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Papa said:


> This is interesting, do you have a reference you can provide that specifically states that 4.50 goes to the tax? I haven't seen this anywhere in the U.S...If you can find something, I'd be very grateful.


Every ride starting out of City of New Orleans has.50 cent tax.


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## Papa (May 14, 2015)

galileo5 said:


> AND it's a fee that the DRIVER PAYS. Passengers do not pay the booking fee!
> It's another way for Uber to screw its drivers.


Clear your thoughts up for us? When you say the driver pays, and not the Pax, what do you mean exactly? What is the fee in your market (Mid-Atlantic), and is that fee not included in the gross fair, then deducted from your gross? Is the gross before deductions hit with the 20-25% partner fee?


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## Papa (May 14, 2015)

tohunt4me said:


> Every ride starting out of City of New Orleans has.50 vent tax.


Understood, however is there anything that you received from Uber stating that the $.50 was covered by the booking fee? Remember it was presented in its original form as a "Safe Rider Fee"... Just wondering if you had something from Uber?


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Somewhere. Not going dig it out.
It was part of the negotiations with city.New Orleans govt. Is pleased with Uber.we serve areas the taxi's would not go.
One year anniversary this month.
This week, we are now allowed to do X airport pickups.
A $4.00 airport fee has been added to pickups and drop offs.
So now I make less money dropping off at airport than before.
The rate is also set by the city.we get same price as cabs.
Outside of Orleans parish,I could drive a further distance to airport,and be paid $10.00 less.
( if you do 5 airport drop offs, and 5 pickups the airport makes $40.00, if I do 30 trips the city makes $15.00,the city owns the airport,so the city would make $55.00 off of me in that scenario)I could easily bring in $15,000.00 a year city tax.


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## Papa (May 14, 2015)

tohunt4me said:


> Somewhere. Not going dig it out.
> It was part of the negotiations with city.New Orleans govt. Is pleased with Uber.we serve areas the taxi's would not go.
> One year anniversary this month.
> This week, we are now allowed to do X airport pickups.
> ...


Damn..

I only requested the Uber Reference because it could help in the future on this matter. First, Safe Rider Fee, then Booking Fee which they can now say is the additional cost.

It's painful dealing with these issues...work the platform, don't allow the platform to work you. If/When there's no profit,,,good profit, stop operating!!!


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## Papa (May 14, 2015)

These responses are the very reason I started this thread. There are differences in every state, and even every city...potential. We need to begin to document all these changes, and save the official documents when we receive them. There are potential legal implications with this fee as it relates to the driver/partners. I reserve opinion on at as we receive feedback on this thread.

I pose questions for that very reason. At some point in the very near future, I will provide my thoughts and opinions...


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## galileo5 (Jan 16, 2016)

Papa said:


> Clear your thoughts up for us? When you say the driver pays, and not the Pax, what do you mean exactly? What is the fee in your market (Mid-Atlantic), and is that fee not included in the gross fair, then deducted from your gross? Is the gross before deductions hit with the 20-25% partner fee?


All you have to do is analyze the minimum fares for both Uber and Lyft.

Lyft adds the booking fee on top of the fare - which the driver never sees. The driver will always get 75% to 80% of the fare. Assuming 20% commission in a $5-fare, the driver will get $4. Lyft adds $1.50 (varies by city) on top that only the passenger sees (pays $6.50).

Uber incorporates the booking fee into their fares. If the minimum fare is $5, that is what the passenger pays because the fee is built into that amount. Assuming 20% commission, driver gets 80% of the remaining $3.50 (after booking fee taken), which is $2.80. The driver doesn't get 80% of the minimum fare; instead, driver gets 56%.

The dead giveaway to all this is in the Uber tax summary: The booking fee is tax deductible. How could it be tax deductible if the passenger pays it? Because the passenger doesn't pay it. You don't see this in Lyft's tax summary.


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## volksie (Apr 8, 2015)

galileo5 said:


> All you have to do is analyze the minimum fares for both Uber and Lyft.
> 
> Lyft adds the booking fee on top of the fare - which the driver never sees. The driver will always get 75% to 80% of the fare. Assuming 20% commission in a $5-fare, the driver will get $4. Lyft adds $1.50 (varies by city) on top that only the passenger sees (pays $6.50).
> 
> ...


YES!... We shouldn't have to deal with it on our taxes. Proof that they're stealing from ALL of us!
Could the terrible legal advice Uber got in the beginning mean jail time for Little Travis? Maybe someday.


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## BurgerTiime (Jun 22, 2015)

It's like AirBnB cleaning fee. Just another way to get more money.


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## Papa (May 14, 2015)

galileo5 said:


> All you have to do is analyze the minimum fares for both Uber and Lyft.
> 
> Lyft adds the booking fee on top of the fare - which the driver never sees. The driver will always get 75% to 80% of the fare. Assuming 20% commission in a $5-fare, the driver will get $4. Lyft adds $1.50 (varies by city) on top that only the passenger sees (pays $6.50).
> 
> ...


Great explanation. Thank you, and gets me that much closer to my theory.


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

Papa said:


> Uber defines the booking fee as:
> 
> The booking fee, previously known as the Safe Rides Fee, is a separate flat fee added to every trip that helps support safety initiatives for riders and drivers as well as other operational costs.
> 
> ...


The booking fee is unprecedented in transportation biz, no taxi company or livery company I've worked for in the last 20 years
ever had such a fee.

Anyway, it's essentially a "lets' nickel and dime the riders" fee. Its' a way they can say "20%" without it being 20%

it is another example of a policy derived out of the philosophy
that large corporations believe everyone is stupid. It's like this, whenever you encounter a policy by a large company that has you scratching your head to explain it, it's probably one where it only exists because they think every one is stupid.

Heck, maybe they are.


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## Tequila Jake (Jan 28, 2016)

It's just a way for Uber to make sure they make a minimum profit per ride. I compare it to the "processing fee" car dealers add on to the negotiated price of a car -- a little something to the dealership on which they don't pay a commission to the salesperson.


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## Richmond_UberDriver (May 16, 2016)

Not to go off topic, but has anyone else noticed this week in the app updates that the booking fee isn't shown on your pay statement? I ask only as this seems fraudulent to me. I can't make accurate tax predictions based on my gross income without this information. ///sigh..


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## UberTrip (May 3, 2016)

Papa said:


> Uber defines the booking fee as:
> 
> The booking fee, previously known as the Safe Rides Fee, is a separate flat fee added to every trip that helps support safety initiatives for riders and drivers as well as other operational costs.
> 
> ...


It's so they take more of the fare. In my market it's $1.90 which accounts for about 41‰ of the total fare not no BS 25%.... This booking fee will rise in all markets as they take more from the drivers while making it appear the same cost for the passengers.


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## Hackenstein (Dec 16, 2014)

They're just stealing your money. The percentage cut they take already covers their nearly nonexistent 'operating costs.'


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## WaveRunner1 (Jun 11, 2017)

Booking Fee = Uber's way of increasing fares without any benefit to the driver.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Papa said:


> Uber defines the booking fee as:
> 
> The booking fee, previously known as the Safe Rides Fee, is a separate flat fee added to every trip that helps support safety initiatives for riders and drivers as well as other operational costs.
> 
> ...


It is irrelevant what they call the various fees and surcharges that they keep - they all end up in the same Uber bank account and are disbursed as Uber sees fit.


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## day tripper yeah... (Dec 21, 2015)




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## Yokom (Dec 15, 2017)

Ok on short trips the booking takes ubers take on a trip over 55% of the fare. In my city the min fare is 6.30 so the driver gets 2.81 uber gets 3.49 a 2.55 booking fee and 0.94 service fee. 

This is complete bullshit. I dont care what cost uber incure while on the trip it doesnt compare to the cost the driver incrures to provide the service, gas tires insurance car payment not to mention the 3 or 5 miles the driver travled before pickup. 

What ever the rider pays for the ride the driver should be paid 75% of the fare. End of duscussion. The booking fee is unfaire business pratice.


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