Uber is rolling out new cost feature to help customers with vacation travel

UBER customers have been notified of a new cost feature coming to the drive share application soon.

The company confirmed on Tuesday that some may have immediate access to the unique upgrade with the latest version of the Uber app.

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Those who don’t will see the feature — which reveals the wait times and costs of rides in over 10,000 cities – in the coming days, per a press release.

So, how does it work?

Uber noted that the company collects and analyzes past data from trips in the cities, both from reserved and on-demand selections.

While customers have been and are currently able to see the cost and wait of trips for the exact date and time they’re looking to get a ride from their current location, they haven’t been allowed to see similar results elsewhere.

With the updated feature, they can select any of the included cities worldwide to search wait times and costs for rides to locations from local airports.

They can then reserve those rides ahead of time.

It can be accessed by going through the “Where to?” option and selecting “search in a different city.”

Uber said the cost and wait time tool seeks to help Americans with their summer vacations.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) cited high travel numbers this month, with a record 3 million screenings on July 7.

While the feature will likely be positive news for many users, some were particularly frustrated with Uber this spring over a different promised benefit.

The promotion sought to benefit Uber and Uber Eats workers.

Employees with the ride-share company were offered a deal on a membership at Costco for their grocery needs.

FIRST TIME ONLY

Even so, when several workers attempted to redeem the discount, they were confronted with error messages.

“I tried to redeem my Costco membership and this is what I got!” fumed an Uber employee in a post to Facebook last month.

What is Uber One?

Uber fans can enroll in the subscription to cut down the cost of food deliveries and car rides.

Uber One is a subscription service that offers benefits like savings on Uber and Uber Eats.

Monthly memberships start at $9.99, while annual memberships begin at $96 (all in USD).

Uber One also has partnerships with third parties that offer a discounted membership to some users.

Uber One subscribers receive a $0 delivery fee plus up to 10% off eligible orders on restaurants and stores marked with the gold Uber One icon.

They’ll also get member pricing on eligible rides.

Users can purchase their subscription directly in the Uber app.

They showed a screenshot of a message that read, “currently access to your membership is not available, please try again at a later time.”

Others echoed similar complaints, but the fine print in the promotion from Uber made the discount available solely to first-time Costco members.

Those employees who were current members or previously had a membership and canceled would not be eligible for the Uber deal.

Uber has also made waves for other reasons in 2024.

The company recently faced a $175 million settlement alongside its competitor, Lyft, over driver wages.

It also expanded robotic delivery for Uber Eats orders in a key state.