App glitch leaving GTA Uber drivers on hook for toll charges

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Toronto’s Uber drivers are being left on the hook for toll charges after an app glitch, compounded by an unhelpful in-app support system providing drivers with far more questions than answers.

The problem, said Earla Phillips, vice-president of the Rideshare Drivers’ Association of Ontario, cropped up sometime in June.

The app, she said, is normally smart enough to know when the driver is on a toll road and takes care of toll reimbursements behind-the-scenes. But over the summer that process suddenly halted, leaving drivers on the hook for toll charges.

“We’re trusting that the toll fees would be reimbursed, it has always been that way,” she said.

The problem was a bit more insidious than just not processing remunerations, with some drivers reporting partial or incomplete reimbursements, further complicating the process.

This prompted drivers to file adjustment requests via Uber’s in-app support system, whose agents proved less than helpful.

“Uber support people would write back and say things like ‘you didn’t take a toll route,’ or ‘we don’t reimburse tolls, because tolls are optional,'” Phillips said.

“It’s not optional if the route that Uber calculates includes the 407, or the customer requests we take the 407 for time reasons.”

Some drivers were even told they needed to provide receipts to be reimbursed — an impossible situation for Toronto drivers, since Ontario’s toll roads don’t have toll booths.

As well, Uber’s reimbursement policy requires claims to be filed within 24 to 48 hours, also impossible as Ontario’s automated toll charges are billed monthly.

This has prompted drivers to begin refusing to take toll routes, a move that resulted in one driver being de-platformed from the Uber app.

While Uber Canada confirmed to the Toronto Sun that the glitch had been fixed, drivers forced to pay tolls still struggle to get reimbursed.

“Trips going forward are being reimbursed, but previous trip that they owe money on — which could amount to literally hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars, they’re being refused reimbursement.”

In a statement, Uber Canada spokesperson Laura Miller encouraged drivers to contact Uber’s in-app support — the same system that drivers claim has been of little help.

“A technical issue resulted in incorrect toll payments for trips involving the 407 ETR and/or Highway 407. This issue has been resolved, and the correct tolls are being charged,” she said.

“We encourage drivers to contact in-app support if they believe the incorrect toll payment has impacted their trips. We appreciated drivers’ patience as we worked to resolve this issue.”

In a separate statement, Uber Canada told the Toronto Sun they’re able to see that drivers are requesting fare reviews, and that reimbursement adjustments are being made through Uber support.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume