When there is too much demand and too few cars on the road, on-demand car service Uber raises its prices.
Saturday evening, while sleet and snow pounded the East Coast, Uber's surge pricing kicked into effect. The prices were unusually high — seven to eight times normal charges in some places — and people took to Twitter to scream.
Former NBC and ESPN host Michelle Beadle is normally a fan of the car service. But not last night.
Love ya @uber, but $132.00 to get across town last night?! I'm not made of money!
— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) December 15, 2013Spark Capital investor Mo Koyfman was annoyed by the absurd prices too.
.@uber is loved by customers, but charging 4x - 8x in inclement weather is unacceptable. is that one day's margin > customer experience?!?
— Mo Koyfman (@mokoyfman) December 15, 2013A social media manager, Jessica Gioglio, was forced to pay $91 for a 3-mile ride.
Love @uber but a $91 black car from Back bay to central Sq during the snowstorm last night = price gouging: pic.twitter.com/ybTSgBXWXV
— Jessica Gioglio (@savvybostonian) December 15, 2013Another unhappy customer took a picture of the absurd Uber prices in Brooklyn.
The Uber situation in Brooklyn right now is not particularly great pic.twitter.com/OAABfMhDfJ
— Bryan Bonczek (@itsbonczek) December 15, 2013A few days ago, a "thinkfluencer" parody Twitter account said it couldn't believe it was being asked to pay so much for a ride either. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick responded, explaining the surge pricing and the fact that no one can escape it.
@ProfJeffJarvis everyone's treated the same with surge pricing .. Even you.. More cars come out, more rides, Fewer ppl stranded /@Uber_NYC
— travis kalanick (@travisk) December 12, 2013