How is Uber Multiplier Surge Different from Flat Rate Surge?
Simon Kwok
Two days ago, Uber announced that they were reverting back to multiplier surge for Uber Drivers in Calfornia to address concerns from AB5. This is in conjunction with Uber removing upfront pricing in California. Upfront pricing hides the surge multiplier and shows you a set price, which prevents users from knowing exactly how much more expensive the ride is than normal.
How Does Uber Multiplier Surge Pricing Work?
When it was busy on Uber, Uber would set a surge multiplier for trips that originate in certain parts of the city, as seen on the Uber driver map. If the multiplier was 1.25x, the trip was 25% more expensive. If the surge multiplier was 2x, the trip was twice as expensive. Drivers used to get the same multiplier, so trips would pay twice as much if the surge multiplier was 2x.
The multiplier is based on the start of the trip regardless of where you are. You could be inside of the surge zone but get a request from outside the surge zone. This trip will not have any surge multiplier on it, which is very different from the flat rate surge pricing implemented last year. It will be very important to watch the surge multiplier for any trips you accept. You can be within a 2x surge zone and get a non surge trip, for example.
What are the issues with Uber Multiplier Surge Pricing?
The multiplier system favored very long rides and it was not as lucrative for short rides. This system incentivized drivers to ignore requests that were not long rides or drivers would accept trips and call the passenger to see where they are going. Also, some drivers would ignore specific parts of the city because they knew that passengers in that part of town would only go a short distance.
There would also be times where the surge pricing would only last a few minutes so very few drivers would actually get any trips with surge pricing. Some drivers try to chase the surge pricing, which rarely works. By the time drivers get to the surge zone, the surge pricing would often be gone.
I often accept the first or second request and keep driving on the Uber multiplier surge pricing. The time I spend trying to get the highest surge trip would normally not amount to higher earnings. There was no use trying to hunt for a surge price trip since it doesn’t happen that often in Boston. Back in the fall, afternoon rush hour would consistently generate surge pricing, but traffic was always a mess. It would take you 20 minutes to pickup a passenger so it was rarely worth the time to drive during afternoon rush hour.
How is Uber Multiplier Surge different from Flat Rate Surge
Below is Uber’s explanation of the differences between Flat Rate Surge and the Uber Multiplier Surge pricing.
We’ve heard from you that surge can be frustrating, so we’re introducing updates to make it a more reliable and consistent earning opportunity for drivers.
Here’s an overview of our discussions and answers to the main questions they asked.
We’re addressing your feedback with the following updates:
We know it takes time for you to get to a surge zone, so surge now lasts longer on the map.
Instead of just basing surge off where the rider pickup happens, we now will also take your location into account. If you and your rider are both in a surge zone, you’ll earn the higher of the 2 amounts.
We’re changing from multiples (think 1x or 2.3x) to dollar amounts (no more guesswork!). The dollar amount shown on the map is the minimum surge amount you’ll earn extra on your next trip. On longer trips, you might earn more than the amount shown on the map. These additional earnings will be shown on your trip receipt once you complete the trip.
Surge amounts will now stick with you as you continue to move through zones before your next trip. This means that you will keep the highest surge amount that you have driven through for your next trip, even if you leave the surge zone (without going offline).
Our goal with these changes is to make surge a less stressful and more reliable way for you to earn, not increase Uber’s share of earnings. If you choose to drive to surge, you can expect your weekly surge earnings to remain steady or increase.
Drive to a surge zone (if you drive through multiple surge zones, you’ll earn the highest surge amount that you have driven through on your next trip).
Stay online and accept your next trip.
You will earn surge if you are in a surge zone or the rider’s pickup location is in a surge zone when you accept the trip.
The surge amount will be shown at the bottom of your home screen when you’re in a surge zone. This is the minimum surge amount that you’ll earn on your next trip, in addition to regular fares. (Note: the surge amount will not apply to your next trip if you reject, cancel, go offline, or change your trip preferences.)
With dollar amounts on the map, you can earn additional surge amounts consistently on every trip—no matter the length. Watch those surge earnings add up on each surge trip, without relying on that single “lucky” long surge trip.
Here are a few scenarios to help show you how it might work across different trips compared with the previous version of surge:
Surge trips
Old version of surge
New version of surge
1.7x – rider request outside the surge
$0
$3
1.4x – surge disappears after you get there, before next trip
$0
$2.25
2.0x – longer trip
$13.47
$5.75
2.1x shorter trip
$3.31
$6
TOTAL
$16.78
$17
Surge amounts above are on top of fares.
Notice that on shorter trips, you’ll earn more with the new surge, but on infrequent longer trips, you may earn a little less than before. Because most trips are shorter, this change will allow you to earn surge amounts more consistently and more often.
The surge dollar amounts shown on the map are the minimum you can earn on a surge trip. When you complete a longer surge trip, you’ll often see your surge amounts adjusted with added amounts. These additional amounts will vary based on time, distance, and the rider price of a trip. We add these surge amounts to ensure that you’re earning for your extra effort and receiving a meaningful portion of the surge rider price.
Check the “surge” line item on your trip receipt at the end of a long surge trip to see any additional earnings on top of what was shown on your map screen.
When you reach a surge zone, the additional surge earnings will not be applied to your next trip if you are to cancel, reject, go offline, or change your trip preferences.
Surge pickup fees will be added to each UberPool pickup during the surge trip, in addition to the surge dollar amount on the map. The surge pickup fee amount will be shown on the request screen before each additional pickup on the trip.
You can find your surge earnings on your trip receipt. The surge amount includes the dollar amount from the map, plus the extra amount added to the standard pickup fee.
Take a look at an example of how the receipt would look for an UberPool trip with 2 pickups and a $4 surge zone amount, totaling $7 extra from surge.
You can see that the pickup fees still fall under Additional Pickups ($1 x 2 = $2) and the surge portion of the pickup fees plus the surge zone amount falls under Surge ($1.50 x 2 + $4 = $7).
Note that the standard pickup fee (without the extra from surge) is shown separately in your trip details under Additional Pickups. Adding the additional pickups and surge amounts equals $9, the amount shown on the request screen.
Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us improve your driving experience. If you have thoughts or suggestions about the new surge, we’d love to hear it.
To submit your feedback, use the form below or head to your local GLH to talk to an expert.
Back to basics: What is surge?There are times when so many people are requesting rides that there aren’t enough cars on the road to help them all. Bad weather, rush hour, and special events, for instance, may cause unusually large numbers of people to want to ride with Uber, all at the same time.
To make it worth your while to drive to these busy areas, we add dollar amounts on top of your fares for trips taken from there. These dollar amounts are shown on the map screen.
The dollar amounts on the map will increase in zones where there is a higher discrepancy between demand for rides and drivers in the zone. This is shown through the colors on the map and the dollar amounts you see.
You will see higher dollar amounts in the middle (or red zone) of the surge zones. These represent a higher volume of riders requesting. Dollar amounts are lower in surrounding zones where there are fewer riders requesting.
Is the Multiplier Surge Pricing Better or Worst?
After more than a year with the flat rate surge, I believe that the Multiplier Surge Pricing is better than the flat rate surge. Uber often charges rides one price while paying drivers another price, effectively lowering surge pricing for drivers and over-charging riders. This differential is often highest when surge is highest, which often lower driver earnings. It may be true that upfront pricing under charges riders during normal times, but I have seen my earnings reduce last year due to fewer surge trips and lower surge trips. The large surge priced trips have mostly disappeared while there are more normal priced trips, even during peak hours.
