Uber riders in Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal might want to use Uber’s tips for improving their rider rating.
Riders in these cities represent the top three places with the lowest rider ratings in Canada, repeating a trend Uber first shared last year. Hamilton, which was also on the list the year prior, and Edmonton round out the top five.
But that doesn’t mean riders in these cities can’t improve their ratings. According to Uber drivers, they can score higher if they wear their seatbelts, don’t make the driver wait to start the ride and don’t slam the car door.
Uber riders and drivers in Canada can now access a safety feature that allows trips to be audio recorded.
Users can set up the feature in the app’s Safety Toolkit and start a a recording by hitting the blue shield icon on the map screen and tapping ‘start.’ Users can control when they want to start or stop a recording. If riders and drivers don’t end a recording on their own, Uber says the recording will stop after the trip is complete.
Audio files are encrupted and stored on the device of the person making the recording. Uber’s team can only access the file if users report safety incidents, allowing them to attach the audio file in the report.
“We’re always looking for ways to leverage our innovative technology to build features that help make Uber safer,” Michael van Hemmen, general manager of Uber Canada Mobility, said. “We hope this audio recording feature will help give riders and drivers peace of mind by encouraging comfortable and positive interactions while on trips.”
Uber Canada is launching its new premium membership program dubbed Uber One. This membership offers a variety of benefits ranging from standard rides to deliveries as well as grocery services.
Once a membership is active, subscribers gain access to “member-only upgrades,” including top-rated drivers on rides. Additionally, discounts are provided for premium rides. Subscribers will also gain $5 in Uber Cash if arrivals estimates are later than what is shown (after an order is placed).
A full breakdown of what a membership grants a user includes the following:
$0 Delivery Fee and 5% off eligible orders of deliveries
Save 5% off rides including UberX, UberXL and more
Priority service, premium support, top-rated drivers on rides, and the promise of restaurant deliveries to give you $5 in Uber Cash if your order arrives later than the Latest Arrival estimate (shown after you place your order)
A membership costs $9.99 plus tax per month. Alternatively, the company is offering an annual subscription for $99.99 plus tax.
Businesses can also offer memberships for their employees. This includes the same perks and benefits to the subscriber.
In order to activate membership, users will need to navigate to the app. Tapping the Account icon in the top right corner brings up the option for Uber One. From there, users can choose their monthly or annual plans.
Current Uber Pass members will automatically switch to Uber One over the next month as per their billing date. Additionally, they can move to the annual plan if they wish to do so.
The company also states that it is looking to expand the program over time. Additional benefits are likely to be added down the road.
WARSAW/POLAND – APRIL 30, 2019: View on Uber car (Skoda) with inscription on the street before sunset
Uber is making it easier for you to travel from the airport to your final destination. Uber today announced the global expansion of its “Reserve at Airports” feature, which aims to improve the “Airport travel experience.”
The new update allows users to book a pickup from the airport to wherever they want to head next. Now, of course, this isn’t anything novel, though, the accompanying details are noteworthy.
Just in time for what is expected to be one of the busiest summer travel seasons on record, we're expanding Uber Reserve at Airports.
The update allows you to book your ride up to 30 days in advance, alleviating some of the primary stressors of travelling. Additionally, you can choose to provide Uber with your flight information and the company will track your flight to adjust your reservation.
“We’ll automatically adjust your reservation based on the flight information you provide, so your driver is ready and waiting at the airport when your flight lands—whether it’s on time, early or delayed,” reads Uber’s press release.
Once you land, the Uber driver will wait for you at the curbside for 60 minutes at no additional charge.
“Reserve at Airports” is available for Uber Premier, Uber Premier SUV, Uber Black and Uber Black SUV at Montreal (YUL) and Vancouver (YVR) airports.
Uber Canada shared several key statistics and its focus going forward on its 10th Canadian anniversary last week. One of its major goals moving forward is to focus on sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint.
The mobility as a service and food delivery provider has already partnered with non-profit organization Plug’n Drive to support its drivers in making the switch to electric vehicles (EV), and now, Uber is partnering with Flo to help increase EV adoption in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
“FLO’s collaboration with a major ridesharing platform like Uber Canada is significant, as it brings together two major players in the transportation sector in Canada,” said Chris Thorson, FLO’s VP and chief marketing officer. This will “encourage drivers to switch from gas vehicles to electric ones, and reduce transportation’s carbon footprint in Canada’s biggest hubs.”
As a part of the partnership, both Uber and Flo employees and users will benefit. Flo members in the above-mentioned cities will receive a 50 percent discount, up to $10, on their first trip with Uber Green, Uber’s electric/hybrid ride option, whereas Uber drivers can claim a $100 discount on Flo’s Home Residential Chargers.
The partnership will also likely help Uber drivers transition to electric vehicles, furthering the company’s aim to operate as a zero-emission platform globally by 2040. In Canadian cities like Montreal and Vancouver, the company aims to achieve the same goal by 2030.
Uber launched in Canada exactly years ago today on March 15th, 2012 (Uber Eats came later in 2015). Since then, the service has become a staple in the transit and food delivery, along with providing Canadians an additional way to earn income.
To mark the occasion, the company, which was co-founded by Calgarian entrepreneur Garrett Camp, released statistics to show the impact it has had on Canadians nationwide. Its services are available in over 140 municipalities in the nation, spanning nine provinces.
Uber is easy to use and because of this, over the past ten years, over 17 million people have used the service to go somewhere or to have food delivered. About 500 million uber trips have been recorded and over 300 million food orders have been delivered since the service launched, recording over 5.5 billion kilometres in the total area covered.
Over 600,000 Canadians have worked hard behind the wheel and have earned a total of $7.8 billion since 2012.
“There are over 100,000 active drivers and delivery people on the road across the country” this year alone, says Uber in its blog post. “In a normal year, we estimate that Uber saves riders over 13 million hours a year. That’s the equivalent of driving from Halifax to Vancouver over 230,000 times.”
That is not to say that the past ten years have been easy for Uber. The industry it once had a monopoly over is now full of competition, leaving the company unprofitable — so much so that Uber lost more than $27 billion in the last five years alone, according to a Toronto Starreport.
Rapidly increasing gas costs are proving to be heavy for drivers, and riders alike, who are now having to pay a higher cost for the same distance covered. Also, every price increase that Uber has attempted has been met with harsh pushback and criticisms from the app users.
Uber’s high scale also contributes to higher traffic levels in busy cities, resulting in more traffic congestions along with leaving a higher carbon footprint.
The company says that its focus for the next decade is on sustainability. The company has partnered with non-profit organization Plug’n Drive to support its drivers in making the switch to electric vehicles. This comes soon after the company committed to operating a zero-emission platform globally by 2040. In Canadian cities like Montreal and Vancouver, the company aims to achieve the same goal by 2030, alleviating some of the issues that have tainted the ride service’s image in recent years.
In a historic agreement, 10,000 delivery people and drivers working for Uber Canada now have access to representation from United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Canada.
The largest private-sector union in the food industry will represent workers facing disputes with Uber if requested. Charges are covered by Uber and UFCW.
UFCW also represents employees from Maple Leaf Foods Inc. and Loblaw’s various companies.
“Over the past three years, we have worked with and advocated for thousands of drivers across the country regarding their rights, health, and safety,” Paul Meinema, president of UFCW Canada, said in a statement.
“Labour and gig-based companies like Uber have a shared responsibility in addressing these concerns and we are committed through this new agreement with Uber to make it happen for drivers and delivery people.”
While the two organizations will meet regularly to discuss health, safety, and other issues, this agreement does not mean workers are unionized.
Both groups said they’ll work together to ask provincial governments to create benefits and choices for workers in the gig economy.
Uber Canada is offering Canadians discounted rides to and from the polling station on election day.
Using the code “VOTE2021”, folks can get up to 50 percent off — to a maximum of $5 per ride — on any two Uber rides taken on September 20th, 2021.
Ideally, the two discounted rides should be transporting you to and from your assigned polling station.
According to the fine print, the offer is available specifically between 7:30am ET and 10pm ET.
In its press release, Uber also shouts out Elections Canada for their efforts organizing the country’s upcoming 44th federal election.
In April 2021, Uber Canada paired up with the government — specifically Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada — to display information and resources about COVID-19 vaccines on the ridesharing app.
Speaking of the election, one of the Conservative Party of Canada’s campaign promises is to introduce a new tax-free Employee Savings Account that gig economy companies — like Uber, for example — must contribute to, in order to provide more financial security for its precariously employed workers.
