Uber has a new way of shipping humans for the relatively low hourly rate of just 50 bucks.
If you’ve got somewhere to be and no way to get there, and you previously didn’t think it was morally justified to pay some poor soul from a ride-hailing service to ferry you seven hours away, Uber now offers a solution.
Looking for new avenues to plunder in these harsh economic times, Uber will let riders book a ride for the flat rate of $50 per hour, for up to a seven-hour trip, totaling a max ride cost of $350. Maybe the market demand really is big enough for people who just really hate flying.
Here’s how CNET describes its functionality:
With the new offering, passengers can book Uber rides like normal and enter their first stop as the destination. They then have the choice to add multiple stops and select “hourly” from the ride menu. Those stops can be changed if necessary. Uber will show passengers the price difference between hourly and other ride options.
If the trip takes less time than the rider booked, they’ll still have to pay for the hours they selected. And there is an hourly mileage limit, for example some cities have 40-mile limits per hour. If trips run longer than what the passenger booked, they’ll be charged at a per minute rate. Similarly, if they go further than the mileage limit, riders will be charged a per mile rate.
Earlier this month, Uber claimed its ridership had plummeted 80 percent in the first half of April. The company has since relied on its Uber Eats food-delivery service, but inevitably laid off staff and cut its scooter- and bike-share units.
The service is an extension of the company’s hourly rate offerings in cities across the globe, from regions like Australia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, so it isn’t like they’re desperately trying new things.
This has at least been trialed, and I could see the business case in areas like southern California and the U.S. northeast. It’s conceptually perfect for comfortable intercity travel between places like Washington D.C., New York City, Boston, etc.
Well like I said before, that’s if you hate flying. And Amtrak. Please take a train where and when available. It’s like a bunch of cars in a row, sort of like a highway, and it’s fun if you let it be.
Source: gizmodo.com
