Best not dawdle then…

Uber has pushed out a number of new features to the backend of its popular ride-hailing app designed to increase the overall experience of its drivers.

This is great news as it promises to make better use of drivers’ time, allowing for more flexibility and efficiency that will eventually make its way back to you, the Uber user.

One new feature, however, is poised to impact customers pocketbooks a little more directly – drivers will now be paid for waiting times.

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Wait, what does that mean?

Essentially, when you book an Uber and it arrives to pick you up, if the driver is then required to wait for you they will begin charging a fare after a short grace period.

While we certainly don’t begrudge the company’s drivers a living (sitting around waiting for people can seriously impact their ability to book more fares), it’s definitely an important piece of information to keep in mind for customers. We’ve all been there – your Uber arrives earlier than expected and your stuck waiting for the glacially-paced elevator in our building to get its act together. From now on, you’ll be charged for your lateness.

We’ve reached out to Uber to find out the cost of these new changes and the exact length of the grace period. We’ll update this story when we hear back.

Some of the other new features announced include an in-app chat system for better communication between customers and drivers (yay to no more text messages!), as well notifications informing drivers if the journey will be longer than 60 minutes so they can plan their shift accordingly.

If Uber were looking for suggestions of rider-friendly features to add (which they probably aren’t, but we’re going to suggest some anyway) perhaps they could do something to make it so their predicted wait times don’t mysteriously jump from 3 minutes to 11 minutes after a ride has been booked. Just saying.

In the meantime, if you’re booking an Uber you had better make sure that you don’t dawdle when it arrives.

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