[JustTreatMeFair]

Uber Comfort is a new Ride Option available here in Austin. There appears to be no announcement pushed out to drivers.

Uber describes it as costing Passengers 20% more than X

Uber acknowledged there was no different in fee paid to the driver.

No where can I find if there is some increase in time/mileage rates paid to a driver.

On the surface it seems purely a money grab by Uber for SELECT drivers/cars. As a matter of fact when booking a ride I did not even see SELECT presented as an offer.

Has anyone accepted one of these rides and can share if there was any additional pay above X rates?

 

[Brunch]

It appears to be tied to X rides, so if Select drivers have X/Pool turned off, they won't get Comfort requests. Select is still a separate option.

My city doesn't have it yet, but they are talking about it in several city forums. It's considered to be in beta right now and they are paying drivers extra, at least in some cities. The notification that drivers got said that the extra payment is subject to change once the testing is finished. See the screenshot on the first post here:

https://uberpeople.net/threads/uber-comfort.325042/#post-4960764

 

[Noonespecial]

I can get proof. It pays more.
For us old timers who locked in at 75/25 uber comfort pays 87 cents a mile and 25 cents a minute, so for everyone else it would be 82 cents a mile and 25 cents a minute. My buddy drives a 2017 sorrento and has done a "comfort" ride. They sent him a message about it being a beta program.
If you're using a new car anyways i guess its good. Ill get screenshots from him, but it specifically states "newer cars" and "more legroom" so I interpret it as a 4 passenger XL.
Since everything Uber does is sinister, yes, they charge 20 percent more and driver gets 20 percent more in time, but NOT distance. Also, since it happened on the same day as uberpro, I also think its an attempt to get people who do XL/select to turn on that "x" option in hopes of getting a comfort ride. Then, of course, turning down X rides would hurt your pro status. But, if you do x anyways, and have a newer suv anyways, i call this a win.

 

[JustTreatMeFair]

It appears to be tied to X rides, so if Select drivers have X/Pool turned off, they won't get Comfort requests. Select is still a separate option.

It may still be an option but it is not presented as it used to be. As a passenger when I request a ride right now I am presented 1st screen with Uber X, Comfort and UberXL with Comfort preselected.

My city doesn't have it yet, but they are talking about it in several city forums. It's considered to be in beta right now and they are paying drivers extra, at least in some cities. The notification that drivers got said that the extra payment is subject to change once the testing is finished. See the screenshot on the first post here:

https://uberpeople.net/threads/uber-comfort.325042/#post-4960764

Drivers should not blindly get behind anything UBER does after their public acknowledgement of continuing to look for ways to increase what they get from Passengers while lowering Driver Payouts. This is a direct play for that small segment of the market that chose SELECT

 

[Ziggy]

Drivers should not blindly get behind anything UBER does after their public acknowledgement of continuing to look for ways to increase what they get from Passengers while lowering Driver Payouts. This is a direct play for that small segment of the market that chose SELECT

This is also a ploy to get the 1-2 person XL trips to choose Comfort instead of XL ... although I had a 1 person XL the other night who said he first tried to get Comfort but they paired him with a Toyota Camry (which he didn't see as having extra legroom) so he ordered XL ... however, since I took him from the airport to the Four Season, in theory, he should have ordered Select or Lux

 

[Noonespecial]

Also, its pretty bold to state that the extra earnings are subject to change.....and with uberpro this is how they changed: step one, remove the extra 3-6% earnings entirely. Step 2, bring uberpro to austin!

So, while it would be pretty brazen, its the most in in-your-face dick move ive seen. "Welcome to uber comfort, where we are gonna pay you a little extra for having a newer car, BUT, eventually we are just gonna charge the pax extra for YOUR newer car and NOT pay you any extra!"

Besides, why else would they have those last lines in the message they sent out? Is the change REALLY gonna be to pay drivers MORE?

 

[Austin99]

I did 10 rides today. 5X and 5 Comfort

 

[uber_vet]

2014 or better. Mostly midsize/compact SUVs. Long etas. Pays 20% more than X. Takes away from both XL & Select class.

Possibly in response to Lyft discontinuing sub-compacts, if future Lyfts are roomier, makes business sense for Uber to offer low-cost roomier vehicles as well.