Overview
Each Goose Cabs market sets its own cancellation and waiting rules. Your in-app estimate and receipt reflect the rules for the market that serves your trip.
When ride services open, the final published version of this Policy will form part of the applicable Terms of Service and Driver Terms. No ride, cancellation, or waiting fee is currently available or charged through Goose Cabs.
When riders cancel
Commitment point: once a driver has accepted your trip, cancelling a card trip may incur a fee. Cancelling earlier is free, and so is cancelling a ride that is not scheduled within 1 minute of the driver accepting.
- Before a driver accepts, including while we are looking for one: free. A request that ends because no driver is available is also free.
- First minute after the driver accepts, for a ride that is not scheduled: free, whatever reason you choose. This gives you time to correct a mistake such as a wrong pickup address. It does not apply to scheduled rides.
- After that, including while the driver is on the way: a fee may apply, even if the driver is coming from further away, as long as they are on time.
- If your driver has accepted but has not arrived and is more than 5 minutes later than the expected arrival time, you can cancel free of charge, whatever reason you choose. The expected arrival time is set when your driver accepts. If the driver's navigation route is available within about two minutes of accepting, it can update that time, but by no more than 5 minutes later; otherwise the first estimate is kept. After that it does not move later, even if the driver is delayed. For a scheduled ride, it is never earlier than your booked pickup time.
- After the driver has arrived at the pickup: a separate, usually higher, fee may apply.
- After the trip has started: the trip can no longer be cancelled. See Ending a trip early below.
How fees work
Fee amounts are set for each market and never exceed the fare for the trip. Before you confirm a cancellation, the app tells you if a fee may apply, and any fee charged is itemised on your receipt.
There is no cancellation fee on trips paid in cash or with a transit token; cancellation fees apply only to card trips.
The late driver rule is applied automatically. We compare the time you cancel with the expected arrival time, so you do not need to ask support.
Support staff may also waive or reduce a fee where the circumstances warrant it, for example where the vehicle did not match what was shown.
If you cancel because you feel unsafe
If you are in danger, call 911 first. When you cancel, choose I feel unsafe. No cancellation fee is charged, and a priority support case opens so that our team can follow up with you.
This option is for genuine safety concerns. Using it to avoid a fee is misuse of the Services: support reviews every safety cancellation, and misuse can lead to the account being restricted or removed.
Ending a trip early
Once a trip has started, you can end it at your current location instead of the booked destination. On a card trip, choose End trip here in the app. On other trips, ask your driver to end the trip.
Your current location becomes the end of the trip. The final fare is calculated from the distance and time travelled so far, subject to the market's minimum fare, and no separate cancellation fee is charged. You never pay more than the fare you booked, and if you end the trip close to your destination, the booked fare applies.
Refunds after cancel
If your card was only authorized and not charged, we release the authorization. If an amount was charged, the refund is the amount charged, less any earlier refund and any cancellation fee that applies.
When a driver or Goose Cabs cancels
When a driver or Goose Cabs cancels a trip, the rider is not charged a cancellation fee. The one exception is a verified no-show, described below. When our staff cancel a trip, a rider fee is charged only if they assess one under this Policy after reviewing what happened.
If a driver cancels after accepting but before pickup, we may look for another driver before the trip is cancelled.
If a driver has to end a trip that has already started because of a vehicle problem, a navigation problem, or their own emergency, the rider pays only for the distance and time actually travelled, without a base fare, booking or service fees, or a minimum fare. Any surge and taxes still apply, and the rider never pays more than the booked fare.
A trip ended for a safety reason is not charged, and our support team reviews every one.
No-shows
If the driver arrives at the pickup and the rider does not come or cannot be reached, the driver may cancel the trip as a no-show, but only after marking their arrival at the pickup. On a scheduled ride, the driver can report a no-show only after the free grace period has passed. It starts at your booked pickup time, or when the driver arrives if that is later. A no-show fee set for the market may then apply to a card trip.
The fee is charged only after your driver has arrived at the pickup, waited through the free grace period and tried to call or message you, as shown by our trip records, including the driver's location at the pickup throughout the wait. It is not charged if your driver arrived more than 10 minutes after the expected arrival time described above. A driver who arrives early for a scheduled ride does not shorten the free grace period. You can ask support to review a no-show fee.
Waiting-time charges
After a free grace period at pickup, and at your stop if you added one, waiting time is charged per minute, up to a cap. For a scheduled trip, waiting starts no earlier than the scheduled pickup time, so a driver who arrives early does not start your clock.
The grace period, the per-minute rate, and the cap are set for each market, and the app tells you the rate when waiting charges start. Any surge on your trip applies to the waiting rate, and tax is added. On a card trip, waiting is part of the final fare, even when it takes the fare above the amount authorized on your card; the Terms of Service explain how the rest is charged. Any waiting charge is itemised on your receipt.
Fare adjustments at completion
Separately from cancellation, the final amount of a completed trip can change when the trip ends early, starts from a different pickup point, or follows a route that differs significantly from the one booked. The minimum fare still applies, and any adjustment is shown on your receipt.
If your final fare differs from the price shown at booking, for example because the trip ended early, the pickup or route changed, or waiting time was added, or the fare was set after we reviewed the trip, your receipt and trip details say why. They say the trip ended early at your request only when you ended it in the app. If your driver ended it early, they say the trip ended before the planned destination.
Scheduled rides
A scheduled ride may be cancelled automatically if its card authorization has expired or its pickup time has passed without a driver, and you may need to book again. You are not charged a cancellation fee when this happens. The Terms of Service describe the scheduling limits.
Questions and disputes
Contact support@goosecabs.ca with your trip details if you believe a fee was applied incorrectly.
These documents are governed by the laws of the Province of Alberta and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Courts in Alberta have exclusive jurisdiction, except where consumer protection law requires otherwise.