A former Merseyside Uber driver has lifted the lid on the sneaky tactics used by drivers that could be affecting your journeys.
The driver – who also worked as an adviser for the app firm until recently – says there are issues with the mobile app that some drivers are exploiting – and that he thinks should be addressed.
The issue he is speaking about concerns drivers ‘choosing’ the journeys they would prefer and ‘cancelling’ on customers who are then left in the lurch.
The former driver – who asked not to be named – said: “I would ask Uber customers, have you or anyone you know ever booked an Uber and suddenly the driver/vehicle has changed?
“More recently have you experienced a lot of drivers accepting and the cancelling the trip?”
He claimed: “They’re basically starting the journey to see if it’s worth their while.”
The ex-driver said that previously drivers could “get around this using a flaw in the platform”.
Uber’s cancellation policy for drivers acknowledges their right to cancel, but punishes those that appear to be gaming the system, such as cancelling the ride once they are aware of the destination.
But the ex-driver said that previously, when a driver decides to cancel, both the passenger and Uber could be unaware of what was going on.
This is because if the driver decided they didn’t want the job and cancelled, it would be passed on to another driver, and while the time of arrival may have extended, the passenger wouldn’t be any the wiser.
He said he now believes something has changed within the app.
He said: “Drivers can no longer bypass the platform, which has resulted in an increase in them accepting jobs and then cancelling.”
He said this will explain why customers may be waiting for an agreed journey, only to see their driver suddenly cancel their job.
Your rights as a passenger in a taxi
He said this is usually because the driver has come across a different, more lucrative job.
He added: “This is why I was seeing some drivers making £500 a week from just doing a small number of jobs – they were picking and choosing.
“There are guys working in town who are waiting for these jobs – they will cancel a job and then it goes to a driver much further out and the customer has to wait much longer.
“This could mean missing a train or an appointment – it actually happened to me when I was in hospital recently and I couldn’t get a cab because they kept cancelling on me.”
He said that in his role as a partner driver – which meant he would liaise between Uber, its drivers and the local authorities where they operate – he tried to bring up the issue several times.
He said: “I even brought it up in a meeting with (Uber chief executive) Dara Khosrowshahi – but nothing seems to be getting done about it.”
He added: “Its hard for me to say all this because there are loads of good drivers who are doing a good job – but these small few are ruining it for the many.
“I think if Uber could be a bit more stringent about it, they could sort it out.”
Uber has been approached for a response to the claims.