Do you spend a lot of time — and cash — relying on Uber to get around?
A new flat-rate ride package might help you cut costs.
Uber’s Flat Fare Ride Package is currently offered in nine big cities: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
To access lower-than-normal fares, you pay an activation charge of $10 for 20 flat-fare trips or $20 for 40 flat-fare trips.
The flat prices differ by market, but overall they’re extremely inexpensive. UberPool rides begin at only $1.99, and UberX trips start as low as $3.99.
How Low Do Uber’s Flat Fares Go?
There are a few caveats: you must pick a single city to activate your flat-fare pack, so don’t expect to use your home-city deal while traveling elsewhere (unless you buy a pack in both places). Also, rides must remain inside the city’s defined zone, and some airport areas are not included.
You pay the activation fee up front, and the promotional pricing stays active for 30 days (or until you’ve used all your allocated rides).
Here’s the rundown of fares. Remember to include the activation charge of $10 or $20 when you do the math:
Boston: $1.99 UberPool rides, $4.99 UberX rides
Chicago: $2.49 UberPool rides, $4.49 UberX rides
Los Angeles: $1.99 UberPool rides, $3.99 UberX rides
Miami: $1.99 UberPool rides, $4.99 UberX rides
New York City: $2.99 UberPool rides, $5.99 UberX rides
San Diego: $2.99 UberPool rides, $4.99 UberX rides
San Francisco: $2.49 UberPool rides, $4.99 UberX rides
Seattle: $2.49 UberPool rides, $4.49 UberX rides
Washington, D.C.: $2.49 UberPool rides, $4.49 UberX rides
Is the Upfront Cost Worth It?
How often do you need to ride with Uber to justify buying this flat-fare pack?
I examined the Washington, D.C. map because that’s the market I know best. The eligible flat-fare zone is large — it stretches past the Beltway that encircles the city and surrounding suburbs.
What destinations are included? In the D.C. area, both Reagan National and Dulles airports are excluded, which removes the pricey $20 rides I used to take from downtown to Reagan in Arlington.
Outside of my few airport trips, the bulk of my rides were late-night runs from the cookie place to my apartment, typically avoiding surge periods.
But I remembered regular trips from Capitol Hill to a friend’s home in Alexandria, Virginia. That roughly 8-mile ride usually took about 20 minutes and cost around $13. That route lies inside the flat-fare area, meaning my typical $13 trip could be taken nearly three times under the flat-fare rate of $4.49 per ride (once you factor in the activation cost).
Reviewing your own Uber history will help you determine if the deal pays off. For example, I spent $45.26 on four trips in the Tampa Bay region in January alone, which put me in the “almost worth it” zone.
But don’t just take my conclusion; run the numbers yourself. Many promotions wind up being “almost worth it,” so be strict when you calculate.
If you’re a frequent traveler to or from the airport, also check airport uber promo code options — they can sometimes make more sense than a flat-fare pack.
Uber’s Tumultuous Few Weeks
Uber experimented with a comparable program last summer, offering a bundle price for a set of trips plus a small per-ride fee.
How can it sell rides so cheaply?
“For Uber, making money may be secondary to outcompeting every other public transit option,” Chris Mills of BGR observed in August 2016.
The company faced backlash after an executive order last week limited travel from several Muslim-majority countries to the United States. The policy triggered large protests at airports and in cities; in solidarity with demonstrators, New York City cab drivers said they would refuse pickups at JFK Airport for an hour.
Shortly after that taxi action, Uber said it would suspend surge pricing. Some interpreted the move as an attempt to capitalize on airport traffic, though Uber characterized it as just informing users. The #DeleteUber movement gained momentum on Twitter, urging people to remove the app in protest.
Later that week, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick announced he would resign from a presidential advisory council made up of business leaders.
Before stepping down from that group, Kalanick wrote on Uber’s newsroom that the company would offer legal help to drivers who faced issues returning to the U.S. because of the travel restrictions, reimburse those drivers for lost income and set up a legal fund to support drivers facing immigration challenges.
Your Turn: Does Uber’s flat-fare package make sense for your travel patterns?
