Ride-sharing service Uber is trying something a little different in a few American cities — it’s called Ride Pass, which is just what it sounds like. Unless you think it sounds like something that you do to get past slow drivers on the highway. No, Ride Pass is a monthly subscription that will give dedicated Uber users access to cheaper rates when getting around. Sounds pretty handy if you’re replacing your car with Uber on a (semi-)permanent basis.
Uber’s Ride Pass will cost users in Austin, Denver, Miami, and Orlando $14.99 a month and users in Los Angeles $24.99 a month (because everything’s expensive in LA) and what subscribers get in return is a flat rate for UberPool and UberX rides, a rate — based on historical data — that won’t change based on time of day, weather or because of surge pricing.
The Verge reports that there’s no monthly limit to the number of rides that subscribers can take and that user could see discounts of up to 15% on their monthly cash spent on Uber trips. Oh, and if you’re a Ride Pass subscriber the app will also track how much you’ve saved using the subscription option. Because budgets.
This isn’t the first time that Uber’s tried out a subscription service. Uber Plus was a thing for a while, an offering that gave users discounted rates on a limited number of rides every month. This test is a lot more comprehensive and offers what should be a substantial discount for users. Driver’s won’t be feeling the pinch of reduced rates, though. Apparently Uber’s going to be picking up the slack there.
Source: Uber