Uber now has a program for taking your dog for a walk
One of the disadvantages of being a pet owner without a vehicle at your disposal is that getting around in a pinch typically means you are giving up someone who is willing to transport you two in good believe. Uber knows this can be difficult, and it launches a new pilot, Uber Pet, to facilitate this process for all parties involved – provided everyone is on their best behavior.
Uber drivers are independent contractors driving out of their own vehicles, which means that by letting you get in their car, they effectively bring you into a room where they drive all their business. It is for this reason that there may be uneven bookings of tours for both riders traveling with pets as well as drivers, who do not know you or your animal. People are bad enough. It is quite reasonable that someone will be wary of inviting a dog, cat or god knows what else in the equation.
Uber announced this week that they are testing the Uber Pet ride option in various US markets, which TechCrunch reported Wednesday, a feature that a spokesman for Uber told Gizmodo, similar to the one previously tested in countries in Latin America and Asia. Instead of going through the multi-step process of finding a driver who feels comfortable enough with your weird animal to allow it in the vehicle, cyclists can choose the option while booking the trip and be paired with a driver who has already chosen to allow the animals that are not in the service of riding their cars.
Under this system, cyclists will be charged $ 3 to $ 5 – depending on city – at the top of the trip, And the fee will be included in the upfront price they see when choosing the tour option, a Uber spokesman told Gizmodo. The program is currently piloted in Austin, Denver, Nashville, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Tampa Bay. In these cities, Uber drivers will have the option of opting out of transporting passengers carrying an animal.
However, those who choose to bring in pets will retain a "substantial amount" of the fee, the spokesman said, although he declined to state a specific percentage and instead said it would be "close to the majority" of the additional fee that Initially, Uber still manages to benefit from this extra burden for drivers, and on whether drivers are responsible for any damage to the vehicle that may result from pet transportation, the spokesman said that Uber drivers have taken advantage of charging these riders to cover the cost of damages, according to the company's Community Guidelines .
As a pet owner myself, I have certainly taken more than a few rides accompanied by my dog with Uber or Lyft. multi-step process that involves booking the trip, waiting to be paired with a driver, contacting the driver to ask if they are comfortable with transporting a medium sized dog in the vehicle, and potentially repeat the process again if the person – very understandable, remember you – refuse trip. It is a very small inconvenience for me as a rider given that the drivers prior to the launch of this pilot in the US were at greater risk of potential damage to the vehicles with no additional benefits each time they let an animal into the car. [19659012] Illustration for the article titled Ubers Making It Easier to bring your pet for the ride – and don't you dare ruin this for me ” data-poster-src=”” data-anim-src=”” data-cropped=”false” class=”dv4r5q-1 hEuYft”/>