Uber is quietly rolling out flat rates for riders in select cities
Hailing an Uber could be as cheap as taking the bus.
Uber is testing out a new pricing plan that could make using the service as cheap as paying bus fare in a city like San Francisco.
Uber's current pricing structure, like Lyft, depends on the distance you're traveling from one point to another as well as surge pricing, which makes your ride more expensive if you hail one during a busier time than normal. This can cause prices to skyrocket when you're only traveling a short distance.
The company is opting to shy away from surge pricing by offering a new flat fee per ride for groups of riders this September, according to Business Insider, who first caught wind of the new program via new beta invite.
Uber offered a package of 20 trips for $20 or 40 trips for $30 and a flat fare of $2 for an UberPool ride, where you share a car with others. For an UberX, or a private car, it's $7.
The 20 rides via UberPool, when the pricing is broken down, essentially makes it about $3 apiece. Uber has yet to offer commentary on the test, but it is currently rolling out the structure to six locations: San Diego, Boston, Seattle, Miami and Washington, DC.
It will be interesting to see how these pricing alterations work out for Uber in the future and if the test is rolled out to other cities going forward.
