# Trip Supplement?



## mch (Nov 22, 2018)

I just started doing uber eats. What is the trip supplement? Is this the "boost" Ive seen people talking about?


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## KevinJohnson (Mar 23, 2020)

Trip Supplement is a catch all when they need to add a bit to the fare. 
Boosts will be listed days in advance on the promo screen. Surges will be shown in real time by area.


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## mch (Nov 22, 2018)

KevinJohnson said:


> Trip Supplement is a catch all when they need to add a bit to the fare.
> Boosts will be listed days in advance on the promo screen. Surges will be shown in real time by area.


An order thats been previously dropped is my guess.


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## SleelWheels (Jun 25, 2019)

Oh I thought you meant like eating a cereal bar.


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## Launchpad McQuack (Jan 8, 2019)

Back in the day, we used to be paid according to a transparent formula. The formula was.....

Pay = *Pickup_Fee* + *Dropoff_Fee* + *Miles***Mileage_Rate* + *Time***Time_Rate*

The quantities in *blue* were fixed numbers that were the same for every delivery. The quantities in *red* were the actual time and mileage for the delivery.

If you had a boost or surge (which I never did in my market), then the multiplier was applied to the entire formula. So a 1.5x boost meant that you would be paid 50% more for the same delivery.

About a year ago, Uber changed the pay model to something less transparent. The new formula is.....

Pay = *Base* + *Supplement*

I'm pretty sure that *Base* is still calculated based on a formula similar to before. They don't tell us what the formula for *Base* is, though, and the rates are much lower. The rates are so low that no delivery is worth doing for only the base rate. This is by design. The reason why *Base* is so low is so that Uber can manipulate delivery pay in pretty much any way that they want using *Supplement*. There is no formula for *Supplement*..........or at least there is no formula that is based on time and mileage. Uber's algorithm comes up with a total dollar amount that it wants to offer a driver when they send out the ping. The value of *Supplement* is chosen so that *Base* + *Supplement* equals that number. This allows Uber's algorithm to arbitrarily set the pay for each delivery without being bound to a formula that is based on time and mileage. The algorithm is constantly trying to assess just how little they can pay drivers and still get orders delivered in a timely manner.

So if the payout for every delivery is completely arbitrary and not tied to time and mileage, then why have *Base* at all? Why not just have a single value called *Supplement* and allow the algorithm to set this value? Because having *Base* as part of the formula gives Uber a tool that they can use to psychologically manipulate drivers. That tool is boost. Remember, above, how the boost was applied to the entire pay formula for the old pay model? So a 1.5x boost meant that the driver would be paid 50% more for the same delivery compared to the non-boost pay? That is no longer the case with the new pay model. Under the new pay model, the boost multiplier is *only applied to Base*. Since the *Base* rates were intentionally set by Uber to be lower than any driver would be willing to drive for and since the value of *Supplement* is selected arbitrarily by the algorithm to achieve the desired payout for the delivery, a boost generally has no effect on the pay for a delivery. The boost multiplier is applied to *Base* and then the value of *Supplement* is reduced by the boost so that the delivery pays the same with the boost as it would have without it.

As an example, take a delivery that pays $4 with no boost. Under the old pay model, if a 1.5x boost was in effect that delivery would now pay $6 (1.5*$4). How does a 1.5x boost affect the delivery pay under the new pay model, though? The answer is that it depends on how much of the pay comes from *Base* and how much from *Supplement*.

Lets start by assuming an even split. *Base* = $2 and *Supplement* = $2. If you apply the 1.5x boost to *Base*, then *Boost* is $1. *Supplement* will be reduced to $1 so that *Base* + *Boost* + *Supplement* = $2 + $1 + $1 = $4. The delivery still pays $4 even with the 1.5x boost.

Now lets assume a different initial split. *Base* = $2.50 and *Supplement* = $1.50. Apply the 1.5x boost to *Base*, and *Boost* is $1.25. *Supplement* will be reduced to $0.25 so that *Base* + *Boost* + *Supplement* = $2.50 + $1.25 + $0.25 = $4. The delivery still pays $4 even with the 1.5x boost.

Now lets assume one more initial split. *Base* = $3 and *Supplement* = $1. Apply the 1.5x boost to *Base*, and *Boost* is $1.50. *Supplement* will be reduced to $0, and *Base* + *Boost* + *Supplement* = $3 + $1.50 + $0 = $4.50. The boost actually increased the delivery pay this time, but a 1.5x boost only increased the pay from $4 to $4.50. Under the old pay model, a 1.5x boost would have increased the pay to $6.

This is a great psychological tool for Uber because drivers see that 1.5x boost and think, "I should drive tonight because I'll make 50% more on each delivery than I normally would," even though that is generally *not* the case. Under the old pay model I pretty much never got boosts because Uber would have to pay more for each delivery if there was a boost in effect. Under the new pay model, I get boosts all the time because the boosts don't actually cause Uber to pay any more for the deliveries. It just allows Uber to present the pay in a way that makes it look like you're making more than you would have without the boost.


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## WindyCityAnt (Feb 24, 2019)

3$ deliveries now pay 3$, with a .50 cent INCLUDED! Thats the point!

so they make it look like money is there, but if your in that “zone” it means NOTHING. 

Its still a whole 3$ for you, then hide the tip to make you drive more and more for them. Hiding all info from you as the driver.


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