Carpool drivers react to the Uber money payment option

Uber leaves more The runners pay trips with good old green drops. Some drivers told Business Insider that they feared that it makes their work more difficult.

The carpooling service has expanded An option to pay cash rides to “dozens of additional cities” in recent weeks, against five where he has introduced cash rides this year, Uber spokesperson for Business Insider told. Cash payments are now available in major cities, notably Los Angeles, San Diego, Tampa and Jacksonville, Florida, as well as some smaller ones, such as Laredo, Texas.

With the new feature, customers can request a trip via the Uber application and pay their driver in cash when they reach their destination. Uber said that the old -fashioned approach opens its service to people without bank accounts, credit cards or other electronic payment forms.

As with any other Uber route, drivers do not have to make cash on the application, said a Uber spokesperson. They can also refuse to receive cash offers.

Three Uber drivers who spoke with Business Insider declared that they saw the value of offering rides to sub-banking passengers. However, money management takes additional measures – and potentially risks their safety.

Roxie Benesch said she had made a few cash passengers this year leaving around San Antonio. One told her that she had paid in cash because she had no money in her bank account, said Benesch.

Although serving the sub-banking runners is a good goal, said Benesch, cash treatment makes it feel less safe as a driver. As a woman who often drives at night, Benesch said that “would be frightening” if a rider knew that she had money on her.

“I think it’s worth doing it, but I can understand that there will be problems,” she said about the Uber cash payment option.

On a Reddit page for Uber drivers, some posters have written that they have seen risks to accept money on the rides. In March, a commentator wondered if it was a good idea from the point of view of responsibility or security.

Sergio Avedian, a Uber driver and main contributor to Guy Ridshare, a blog to advocate driver of concerts and a YouTube channel, said that he feared that drivers who accumulate a lot of money can become targets for criminals. He underlined the reports on taxi drivers in areas such as New York targeted in flights.

If the functionality is sufficiently widespread, he worries the drivers of Uber could undergo similar violence, even if they do not make cash.

“Now we have a target on our head,” said Avedian.

Uber has added new features to manage changes in change ads

Uber first declared that he would offer runners the possibility of paying cash in March – an initial deployment included Cincinnati and San Antonio, among other cities. The option is still in its pilot phase, Uber spokesperson for Business Insider told Uber.

“We believe that transport should open doors for everyone,” said the spokesperson. “However, the truth is that not everyone has access to a bank account or a credit card – and some runners simply prefer to pay in cash.”

Security is “absolute priority,” said the spokesperson. To request cash excursions, riders must verify their identity through a process including cross -checks with third -party databases and, potentially, download an identity document issued by the government. Drivers must also have a file of good comments to accept paid trips in cash.

In March, Uber gave drivers guidelines for cash walks, including drivers should “never discuss too much payment” with cyclists and regularly deposit the money they accumulate.

Uber went from a startup to one of the greatest successes of Silicon Valley using a model without species for his carpooling business. Each transaction, from the payment of drivers to the collection of cyclists’ advice, generally occurs electronically.

In some countries, Uber runners can pay in cash for years. Uber began to allow cash payments in Brazil in 2016. The decision helped the service develop, but a reuters analysis of crime data in 2017 showed a peak in flights involving Uber drivers in São Paulo in the first months after Uber introduced the cash payment option there.

In the United States, making cash payments requires new application features, the company said.

A problem is to modify: if the cyclists do not have the exact amount of cash and the driver cannot make them the difference, Uber will deliver credit for their next trip.

Then there is the question of obtaining its cut from the price of each rider – another process which generally occurs automatically. Uber allows drivers to keep the money that runners use to pay. Then, the company takes its share by debating the driver’s account against future profits.

Matt Kartal, who has led Uber to Cincinnati for nine years, said he had done several cash rides since March. Most were smooth, he said, although a passenger left his car without paying. Some of the paid riders were restaurant employees who spend their cash advice, he said.

Kartal said he was ensuring Uber’s registration function when he sees money payment icon in the application. He said that he confirmed with the runners on the registration they know that they would pay in cash and repeat the amount they owe at the end of the journey in the event of a dispute later.

Kartal sees an opportunity for customers to manipulate the system – similar to what some food driving and food delivery customers do with fraudulent reimbursements – and said he hoped that he will not become a problem with the Uber cash payment option.

“I’m sure it will happen, and I hope that Uber will take the appropriate measures with these special rides,” he said.

Do you have a story to share on running or the concert economy? Contact this journalist at abitter@businessinsider.com or 808-854-4501.