Uber Launches ‘Paid Wait Time’ Feature For Driver-Partners

By peter oluka

Monday, Uber announced ‘Paid Wait Time’, another impactful feature to its App, to make the Uber experience more productive (and less stressful) for driver-partners and their riders.

Uber is committed to putting driver-partners first and has promised to continuously work on improving the app to ensure drive-partners across Nigeria have only a positive experience with the app and that any concerns they have are heard.

Long wait times can be stressful for driver-partners. By the time they arrive at the pick-up location, the driver has already invested fuel, time and effort in getting to a rider.

With the “Paid Waiting Time” policy, Uber will ensure driver-partners get paid per minute if a rider keeps them waiting for more than five minutes after the driver arrives at their pick-up location.

Lola Kassim, general manager for Uber West Africa, explains, “The Paid Wait Time feature is a simple addition that riders will be able to quickly adapt to, but importantly, it makes a big difference to driver-partners efficiency and contribute to that stress-free experience that we aim to achieve”.

Last month Uber announced new features for driver-partners (Arrival Time, Long Trip Notification and Rating Protection) that have made it even easier for driver-partners across Nigeria to choose when, where, and how they drive.

“We know that these features are addressing key concerns of driver-partners and we understand their frustrations. These features focus on three keys areas: more flexibility for drivers when it comes to when they want to use Uber, using our technology to create a stress-free experience, and building on safety,” adds Kassim.

Driver-partner Dami, explains, “I am loving these new features, I work during the night so it is nice that I can now share my trip information with my wife so she knows my whereabouts without having to worry.”  Driver Share My Trip, is a safety feature which allows driver-partners to share their whereabouts and trip status with friends and family, so someone they trust always knows where they are. The driver can start and stop sharing their trip status anytime.

Uber’s goal is to help riders and drivers connect quickly and easily so they can get on their way and Uber hopes these new updates provides the flexibility to test new ideas and improve the reliability of the Uber app for everyone.