UBER is starting to have a problem in Romania that the press from abroad has been reporting for several years now, and the victims are the clients who choose to use the company's service in Romania as well. More precisely, some UBER drivers in Romania have started to manipulate the algorithm that modifies dynamic rate charged for the trips made by the customers, they canceling their orders in the hope that they will be redone and the dynamic rate will automatically increase.
UBER knows about this tactic of the drivers, the dynamic fare of the rides being established according to the existing demand and the number of drivers who are active and available to take over the rides registered in the platform. In London and New York, UBER drivers logged out and logged in intermittently in the platform to create the impression that the number of cars is lower than the demand, and so the dynamic rate started to increase, the algorithm being constantly manipulated, and the press reported this extensively.
UBER is starting to have the same problem in Bucharest, unfortunately, because customers are starting to report the fact that drivers are canceling the orders placed in order to force the increase of the dynamic rate and receive more money from customers. In some situations, customers are forced by UBER drivers to cancel the order, and in some cases to pay the cancellation fee, the dynamic rate increasing in this situation as well, the driver making more money, and the customer losing even more than they should.
UBER: THIS IS HOW Drivers Try to STEAL you when you do Races
UBER seems to be affected by this attempt by drivers to cheat people after introducing the possibility to see in advance how much the entire trip will cost, regardless of which route the drivers take. Considering that UBER drivers have been complaining for years that they are paid too poorly for the rides they do, it was expected that the tactics of foreigners would be adopted in Romania, although many blame the former taxi drivers who have become the worst .
"Uber's operations team constantly analyzes the data generated through Uber applications and identifies drivers with a high rate of ride cancellations. They are contacted by phone and informed that repeatedly canceling orders is not a practice accepted by the company. In cases where the behavior becomes recurrent, partner drivers may be sanctioned with temporary or permanent account deactivation."
UBER is an alternative to classic taxis, and I have to admit that I use the platform every time I want to get somewhere, in parallel with Taxify, where unfortunately the cars are worse and the drivers drive even worse. The good part is that for now Taxify is not affected by this UBER problem with dynamic rates, but I think it won't be long before drivers try to manipulate the system.
UBER said it is closely monitoring the issue and talking to drivers who try to manipulate the system, warning them that they can be kicked out of the platform if they cancel the wrong orders to increase the dynamic rates. The best part is that most customers forced to cancel rides by UBER drivers got their money back, but of course you get angry when you have to get somewhere, and a driver cancels your stupid ride and you have to wait again for another car, which can cost more.
