Uber makes more Riders pay for travel with good old green backs. Some drivers told Business Insider that they fear it will make their jobs harder.
Car service has been expanded An Uber spokesman told Business Insider that over the past few weeks, an option to pay cash payments has been launched in five weeks from the launch of cash rides earlier this year. Cash payments are now available in major cities, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Tampa, and Jacksonville, Florida, as well as some smaller cities such as Laredo, Texas.
With new features, customers can request a ride in the Uber app and pay in cash when they arrive at their destination. Uber said the old-fashioned approach opens up services to people without bank accounts, credit cards or other forms of electronic payment.
A Uber spokesman said that like other Uber rides, drivers don’t have to offer cash rides on the app. They also have the option to receive a cash ride quote completely.
Three Uber drivers who spoke to business insiders said they saw the value of providing rides to passengers who rely on banks. Still, handling cash takes additional steps and may risk security.
Roxie Benesch said she had several passengers paying while driving in San Antonio this year. Benes said she told her she paid in cash because there was no money in her bank account.
Benes said while underserved riders for backpackers are a good goal, cash transactions make her feel unsafe among the drivers. As a woman who often drives at night, Benes says that if a rider knows he has cash, it's “it's horrible.”
“I think it's worth it, but I can understand that there will be problems,” she said of Uber's cash payment method.
On the Reddit page for Uber drivers, some posters read that they see the risk of accepting cash on board. From an accountability or security perspective, a commenter questioned that it was a good idea in March.
Sergio Avedian, an Uber driver and senior contributor, Rideshare Guy, a show driver advocacy blog and YouTube channel, expressed concerns that drivers who accumulate a lot of cash could be targeted by criminals. He pointed to news reports about taxi drivers in the area targeted by New York City for robbery.
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If the feature becomes widespread enough, he fears Uber drivers may experience similar violence, even if they don't make cash rides.
“Now, we have a goal in our mind,” Avidian said.
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Uber first said it will offer options for riders to pay in cash in March – an initial launch that includes other cities like Cincinnati and San Antonio. An Uber spokesperson told Business Insider that the option is still in the pilot phase.
“We think traffic should open the door for everyone,” the spokesperson said. “However, the truth is that not everyone has access to a bank account or a credit card, and some riders only like to pay with cash.”
The spokesperson also said that safety is “the top priority”. To require cash travel, riders need to go through a process to verify their identity, including cross-checking with third-party databases and possibly uploading government-issued IDs. Drivers must also have a good feedback record to accept cash-paid travel.
In March, Uber issued driving guidelines, including drivers should “pay” with riders and regularly deposit their accumulated cash.
Uber has grown from a startup to one of the biggest success stories in Silicon Valley, using cashless models for its ride-hailing business. From paid drivers to collecting drivers, every transaction usually happens electronically.
In some countries, Uber riders can choose to pay in cash for years. Uber began allowing cash payments in Brazil in 2016. The decision helped the service grow, but an analysis of crime data in 2017 showed a surge in robbery involving Uber drivers in the first few months after Uber introduced a cash payment option here.
In the U.S., making cash payments requires some new features in the app, the company said.
One problem is providing changes: If the rider doesn't have the exact amount of cash on hand and the driver can't make a difference to them, then Uber will honor them for their next ride.
Then, there is a problem to make Uber cut the fare for each rider – another process that usually happens automatically. Uber allows drivers to keep the cash riders use to pay. The company then takes its share by debiting its driver’s account in future revenue.
Matt Kartal, who has been driving in Cincinnati for nine years, said he has made several cash rides since March. Most passengers get off without paying. He said some of the salary riders are restaurant employees who spend cash tips on their jobs.
Qatar said he made sure to use Uber's recording feature when he saw cash payments Icons in the application. He said he confirmed the riders in the recording, who knew they would pay and repeated their owes at the end of the ride in case any disputes arose later.
Kartal saw customers have the opportunity to manipulate the system similar to the work of some ride-hailing and food delivery customers for fraudulent refunds, and said he hopes Uber’s cash payment method won’t be a problem.
“I'm sure this will happen and I hope Uber will take the appropriate steps with those specific rides,” he said.
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