This New Uber Update Will Make Your Rides Even More Expensive

If you're living in a major American city, chances are you've used Uber at least once.

For those of us who aren't rolling in the dough, it's quite a luxury, and public transit is often the more financially responsible choice.

Based on a recent blog post from product managers Maya Choksi and Ryan Fujiu, it looks like things are going to remain this way, as a new update could cost the price of Uber rides to become even more expensive.

The post said,

Paying drivers for waiting past 2 minutes: Your time is valuable, so it's frustrating when riders run late or cancel when you're already at the pickup location. We've been trying something new: paying drivers for wait times that exceed two minutes. In the cities where we've been testing this, we've seen that riders are more likely to be prompt. We'll be expanding the policy to a dozen U.S. cities this month, with more coming soon.

Long story short, if you're more than two minutes late to your Uber ride, the fare will have already begun. It might be time to discover the lost art of walking.

This move is reportedly meant to appease Uber drivers as the company faces scrutiny over how it treats them. Uber considers its drivers to be their own bosses and not employees.

But, many drivers have taken issue with the fact they aren't classified as employees, as it denies them benefits and employment protections, and Uber has faced lawsuits because of it.

So, while this new update might make your Uber ride more expensive if you're known to be unpunctual, it could also mean drivers earn more money. There are pros and cons to every change in life.

Citations: Uber Newsroom