Uber South Africa has cleared the air on speculation that it will be implementing new charges for trips to and from airports, as published on social media pages and local media websites.
Spokesperson for Uber South Africa said there were no new airport fees, nor were there any plans to increase fees relating to airport trips.
“In some cases, there is an airport surcharge (which has always been in place), which is directly payable by the rider and goes to the driver. Riders are informed upfront before they accept this by a feature called upfront fares.
“This is to cover for other costs or inconveniences, such as a parking fee to enter a venue or a long return trip after arrival at your destination,” Uber said.
“Please note that charges added to your trip fare may not exactly match the amount paid by your driver. For example, you may be assessed a surcharge when a driver pays a toll when returning to your city of origin or for pickups or drop-offs at an airport.”
Uber said the upfront fares, which customers are confronted with, are calculated based on the expected time and distance of the trip in current traffic conditions, the availability of drivers, the number of people requesting rides, and toll fees.
“Additional charges may apply to your trip, including tolls, surcharges, or other fees. These charges are automatically added to your trip fare,” Uber added.
This week, My Broadband published an article about Uber sneaking in new secret charges for airport trips without the customers knowing what they are being billed for, saying Uber dodged their questions about the new surcharge.
The news also made its way to several Facebook community groups, including eThekwini Secure.
An Uber driver told the publication that drivers do not receive anything extra, nor do they charge extra for airport trips, and that the extra fees go to Uber and not the airport.
The issue first came to pass when a rider was charged R30 extra for two items added to the trip to Lanseria airport, Gauteng.
The two charges, for R20 and R10 extra, were labelled as airport surcharges.
IOL