Business is business, but how far will a transportation service go with their “surge pricing”?
Uber, a ride-sharing service that connects riders to drivers through a phone application, was found not to double or triple their rates on Halloween night, but to charge up to nine times the original rate due to “surge pricing”.
UCF senior and human communication major, Danielle Padron, dealt with Uber’s surge pricing first-hand on Halloween night.
With unbelievable traffic and no way home, Padron and her friend decided to use Uber, as a safe and cheap alternative. The 16-mile ride, which at the normal rate would cost $28.38, totaled a whopping $279.95, well above any college student’s budget.
“Uber is always super cheap. I’ve used it before and they’re very available,” Padron said.
After her experience on Halloween, Padron said she would never use it again.
However, surge pricing is not new. At busy times, Uber rates increase to get more cars on the road. Once enough are on the road, prices go back down to normal levels. On Uber’s website, it says, “when rates are more than double, the surge confirmation screen also requires you to type in the specific surge multiplier to ensure you understand what rates to expect.”
The fact that customers know that rates will be higher did not justify it for Padron. She said she attempted to contact Uber but could not locate a phone number and had to resort to email. The surge pricing did not catch her off-guard, she said, but her driver did overcharge her. According to Padron, the driver told her he would charge the normal rate.
“The driver actually lied. He was being really coy,” Padron said.
As she waited for her friend to hop in, the driver told her he wasn’t running the meter yet. When Padron checked her bank account the next day, her debit card was overdrawn and she was charged almost a 90% increase of the normal rate for her ride home that took over an hour.
Padron appealed to Uber, looking to be reimbursed, and was notified via email that they would in fact reimburse her to a more reasonable price, that being $209.
Uber’s surge pricing has made headlines across the entire United States.
According to Business Insider, Gabby Wathen, a 26-year-old in Baltimore, made a costly decision by using Uber as an alternative to drunk driving after partying on Halloween. For Wathen, her bill broke the bank and she was struggling to pay her rent. Her 20-minute ride home was $362.57.
Wathen had little to no luck disputing the transaction, according to Business Insider. She took to crowd-funding through a GoFund.me page and was able to raise $512 in less than 12 hours. For Elliott Asbury, an Uber customer, his horrific bill got semi-refunded, according to New York Daily News. Instead of a shocking $539 to pay, he ended up receiving a 25% discount for getting caught in the surge pricing and being a first-time customer, bringing his total to $404.25.
According to Uber’s website, “surge pricing allows us to remain reliable, even on one of the busiest nights of the year. Our rates will float in real time with fluctuations in supply and demand. Increased rates incentivize more driver partners to get on the roads and ensure those who need a ride won’t be left stranded.”
The alternative transportation app that came to Orlando in June has yet to gain the legal right to operate in town. Needless to say, this was not the kind of scare thrifty college students were looking for.
