Cheap base tariffs make drivers refuse trips. To accelerate the assignment to a driver, platforms promote extra value payment when asking for a trip. It is a way of “surrounding” the limits of price, says Aptad.
Transport platform users such as EEA have noticed a new proposal in their mobile phones when requesting a trip: Pay an additional value to ensure a faster arrival of a driver.
The functionality – “Uberx Priority” at Uber and a priority service in Bolt – is intended for those who do not want or cannot wait long for the assignment of a driver, but will it be within legality?
In a concrete simulation of, for a trip of 5.38 euros, the priority option implied an increase of 1.59 euros – one 29% increase.
The service acts as a priority boarding on aircraft, support companies, but associations that represent drivers and operators have a different reading.
This service “is, in practice, a subterfuge Created by the platforms to present a higher price to the customer without formally triggering the dynamic fare, which would have effects throughout the geographical zone and on all users ”, denounces Ivo Miguel Fernandes, president of the Portuguese Association of Transporters in Decharacterized Cars (Aptad).
For the person responsible, the origin of the problem is in Rates-base too Baixasthat do not compensate for operating costs, which It leads many drivers to refuse trips that do not compensate them monetarily.
Also Victor Soares, president of the National Movement TVDE Association (ANM-TVDE), points out that the priority service is a response to the lack of drivers willing to accept certain tariffs.
It is a “direct economic incentive to drivers” to accept the trip.
The scarcity of professionals is explained by two factors: delays in IMT examswhich make it difficult to enter new drivers in the market, and the decreased number of active driverswhich choose to accept only the most advantageous trips.
Although this functionality has existed since last year, it has become increasingly popular, especially in summer, months with more demand.
IMT data show that in July there were 38,922 active TV drivers – a 4.3% increase Facing February, but still insufficient to respond to peak demand without extended waiting times.
APTAD denounces what it calls “Artificial segmentation” From the service, arguing that there is no effective improvement in the passenger experience, only an additional cost.
In turn, Bolt and Uber argue that the acceptance of this extra cost is totally voluntary and fulfills the limits imposed by the regulator.
In Portugal, the final value of a trip cannot exceed twice the base tariff, and in most cases the increases are far below this limit.
