Uber cost

How Much Does Uber Cost?

The pricing structure for Uber is different than traditional taxis. The Uber cost varies and it’s based on the city you’re requesting the ride, the distance you’re going, the duration of the trip and a few other factors which I’ll discuss below.  The type of Uber service you choose is also factored in.  (See difference of type of Uber services)

Furthermore, you will get charged extra fees if:

  • Your driver pays for tolls while taking you to your destination (Uber will charge you the fee to reimburse the driver).
  • You get picked up or dropped off at an airport.
  • You or the party you share your Uber make a mess, vomit/puke, or damage the driver’s car.  (The cleaning fee varies from as low as $25 and up to a maximum of $150.  Put in mind if you’re significantly damaged the driver’s vehicle, you might be held liable for the extra cost)
  • There are special events, bad weather as a result of less supply and high demand i.e. high requests for Uber rides and not many drivers available cause “surge pricing” (see how surge price works)

The Uber Cost Factors

The Uber costs are based on the following factors:

  • Base fare which is the price your Uber ride will start at, and that of course vary on what city you are in and the type of service requested.
  • Cost per minute is the price you pay minute for the whole duration of your Uber ride
  • Cost per mile is how much you get charged per mile, again it varies by city.
  • Booking Fee: It used to be known as “safe rides fee” and it was introduced since April 2014. You get charged this fee for every single Uber ride you take.  Uber claim this fee cover the costs of running background checks on drivers, insurance costs and including but not limited to Uber customer support for the Uber riders.

How to calculate the fare of your trip

Base Fare + (Cost per minute X duration of the trip) + (Cost per mile X trip distance) + Booking Fee = your trip fare.

Here’s an example: Let’s you’re in San Francisco CA, and you request an UberX, and your destination is 10 miles away, and you spend 20 minutes.

Calculation (see table below):  $2 + ($0.22 X 20 min) + ($1.15 X 10 miles) + $1.55 = $19.45 is your total fare. 

Example of Uber cost listed by type of Uber service: San Francisco

Take a look at the table below and you’ll be able to see the price range for different types of Uber Services. These are the Uber fare factors in the city of San Francisco CA. If you’re in a different city, these factors will be varied.

(As of Nov. 18, 2016)

Base FareCost per minuteCost per mileBooking FeeMinimum Fare

What is Uber minimum fare?

It is a minimum charge for every trip if the total cost is less than the required amount. For example, here in San Francisco CA the minimum fare for UberX is $6.55, so if the sum of your trip fare is lower than $6.55, you’ll get charged the minimum fare regardless.  In other words, you won’t pay less than the minimum fare.  The idea behind the minimum fare is that Uber want their drivers to fairly get compensated on short rides.

Let’s do a quick example where the cost of your trip can be less than the minimum fare: Again, you’re in San Francisco CA, and you request for an UberX, and your destination is only 1 mile away this time, and you spend 3 minutes to get there.

Calculation (see table below):  $2 + ($0.22 X 3 min) + ($1.15 X 1 mile) + $1.55= 5.36$ (your fare) but in this case you will have to pay $6.55 which is the minimum fare in San Francisco California. 

Uber Cost – Pay flat rates for your Uber rides?

What are “Uber Flat Rates”? Not long ago, Uber launched flat rates on specific trips for certain areas. It simply means that your Uber trip will solely base on just one fixed cost, which your Uber cost won’t be calculated by distance and time or duration of your Uber ride.

For example, if you’re going to the San Francisco area from the San Francisco International Airport, you’ll get charged a flat rate of $65 for UberBlack, and $81 for UberSUV.

How to get an Uber cost estimate using the app

  1. Open Uber rider app.
  2. Tap on the type of Uber service you want (UberX, UberXL, UberSelect etc…)
  4. Enter your destination (And you’ll see your estimate at the bottom of the screen)

Uber cost Uber cost estimate Uber cost fare estimator Uber fare cost

How to Use Uber’s website to find out your estimate

  1. Click here to go to UBER FARE ESTIMATOR website.
  2. Enter pickup location.
  3. Enter destination/drop-off location.

How does the Uber Company make money?

Uber takes 20% commissions from old drivers’ earnings, and 25% from new drivers.  Uber make money from the booking fees charge to riders; in fact it has been reported that Uber make over $449 million in revenue from booking fees over the last 2 years.