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A comment on Uber stops upfront ride pricing in response to California worker law. Parent comment

Re:Uber stops upfront ride pricing in response to California... by TeMPOraL on Saturday January 11, 2020 @08:50AM (#22019837)
Driver getting paid and the passenger paying are two different transactions; that's one of the reasons there's a company in between them. So while the driver should be compensated, this doesn't necessarily means the particular passenger should be charged extra. The company in the middle has an opportunity to pool such risk.

On top of that, with all the tech specialists Uber hires, with all the complex tech they brag about, with all the data they suck in - and given that they know your starting point and your destination - how come that they can't include traffic in the price estimation? It's not like traffic jams materialize suddenly, out of nowhere, and disappear in the flash. With the data it has, Uber could tell in advance that your ride will be stuck in traffic, and price accordingly.

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Re:Uber stops upfront ride pricing in response to California... by m-p-3 on Saturday January 11, 2020 @06:25PM (#22023165)
> how come that they can't include traffic in the price estimation? It's not like traffic jams materialize suddenly, out of nowhere, and disappear in the flash.

Even traffic indication in Google Maps isn't that accurate, I often get into a red section where there might have been a jam 15-20 min ago but it cleared up when I got there.

Those traffic indicators aren',t really live, more like how it was 30 minutes in the past.

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Re:Uber stops upfront ride pricing in response to California... by drywater on Saturday January 11, 2020 @09:14AM (#22019948)
And why should a company give you some insurance for a traffic jam? Can you find another example where companies are paying for "things happened"?
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Re:Uber stops upfront ride pricing in response to California... by geofft on Saturday January 11, 2020 @09:36AM (#22020064)
Options? Fixed-rate mortgages? Salaries that are stated as a number of dollars, not a percentage of company profit? "We will charge you perhaps a bit more / pay you perhaps a bit less but in exchange we will take the risk of the real value fluctuating and your number is guaranteed" is a super common deal.

More fundamentally, why should they do it? Because they think it'll get customers, and as a big company they can absorb the risk.

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Re:Uber stops upfront ride pricing in response to California... by gpm on Saturday January 11, 2020 @09:30AM (#22020045)
Every single company that ships things to customers. If it gets damaged in transit it is their problem not your problem. If traffic is bad it is the shipping companies problem.

Every single company that offers a warranty. If something unexpected caused an issue in creating the good (in this case a ride from a to b) it is their problem not your problem.

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Re:Uber stops upfront ride pricing in response to California... by scottlocklin on Saturday January 11, 2020 @09:23AM (#22019996)
>Can you find another example where companies are paying for "things happened"?

Airlines.

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