Ride-hailing service Uber has introduced wait-time charges for passengers if they do not board cab after 3 minutes of driver arriving at the pickup location.
Starting Wednesday, Uber will charge a 20 Singapore cent-per-minute penalty fee if the rider is more than three minutes late, Uber said in a blog post.
The timer begins when the driver arrives at the pickup location and a push notification is sent to the passenger The charges are also subject to dynamic pricing when demand is high.
The wait-time charges will be prorated, meaning if the rider arrives 30 seconds after wait-time charges kick in, he/she will only be charged S$0.10. This additional charge will reflect on the receipt after the trip.
After waiting for five minutes, drivers have the option of cancelling the trip and receiving the cancellation fee.
The aim of the charge is to "encourage you to only request a ride when you're near the pickup location and ready to meet the driver", Uber said in a blog post.
The charges currently apply only to rides on uberX, uberXL, UberExec and ExecLarge. Its other services, including uberPOOL, are not affected.
