When making a purchase like food at a restaurant, clothing at a store, or even when hiring services like an electrician, the prudent thing we all do is ask how much will it cost. This is because no one likes being surprised with a hefty bill at the end, right? This is exactly the concept that Lyft is trying to implement with a new feature in the form of upfront fares.
According to Lyft’s announcement, “Now you can ride a little easier knowing how much you’ll be charged — no surprises. In select U.S. cities, we’ve launched a new feature that allows passengers to see the total price of a Lyft ride before they tap ‘Request.’” This is a similar feature that Uber rolled out not too long ago, so it only makes sense that Lyft would adopt something similar as well.
The company also notes that the total shown on the screen will take into account other fees apart from the ride itself. “The total you see includes fees, taxes, tolls, Prime Time, and any promotions that apply—so you never have to do the math.” Note that this only works if you were to specify where you are headed.
If you do not know where you are going, or if you change your mind halfway, then the upfront fares feature will no longer come into play and it will revert back to the usual calculation of fares based on time and distance. As Lyft says, for now the feature is only available in select cities (they did not specify which), but we expect that it will eventually find its way to other markets that the company operates in.
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