You must have seen surged price. Well most of the time I too see and get around it or delay my booking. I generally plan y ride well before so that in case of too much surge I can plan alternative as well.
Read also: Uber price cut in India
Nitish started a petition on Change.org to stop surge pricing and make it traditional taxi , so that when you need it most you may not get any cab around. You can read it all before making your choice to sign the petition. At first you may feel that you must sign the petition in the interest of riders but at the end if you read everything even reply of Uber India then you may think again.
I skipped signing it. There must be a reject button as well.
Content from petition..
Uber claims surge pricing is for the customer’s benefit, to ensure that they have cabs.
A cab driver ended my friend’s trip halfway through when he asked to wait for couple of minutes. He had just stepped out to get some cash from an ATM. The cab driver asked him to rebook… this time with 2.6x surge pricing.
Uber claims that it uses surge pricing when there is a shortage of cabs.
I had more than 8 Uber cabs available around me and still had to pay 3.8x surge pricing (Which could be clearly seen in the screenshots)
Uber claims surge pricing attracts more drivers during peak hours.
I had to pay 1.5x surge pricing on a Wednesday afternoon; clearly not peak hour timings.
Sign my petition to stop this rampant looting!
Surge pricing money does not necessarily go to the drivers. In many cities, it goes straight into Uber’s pocket as claimed by many drivers
Uber provides peak-hour incentives to its drivers to lure them away from Ola. Uber then makes this money back by overcharging its customers 3x, 4x and even 7x times the cab fare.
Uber is a great convenience and has transformed how we travel. But they have to stop taking advantage of customers who rely on them.
Sign my petition and share it with all your friends and family who use Uber. If we all speak up together, we can get Uber to respond and regulate their surge pricing.
Uber's reply for above petition ..
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Hi there,
Uber regularly does surge pricing when demand outstrips supply. Remember, we do not own cars nor do we employ drivers. Higher prices are required in order to get cars on the road and keep them on the road during the busiest times. This maximizes the number of trips and minimizes the number of people stranded. The drivers have other options as well. In short, without Surge Pricing, there would be no car available at all.
Now granted, that the prices are significantly higher. BUT we notify every customer in big bold images in text, which each customer has to confirm in order to request. Furthermore, every customer also had to type in what the multiplier was in order to double confirm that they understood what they were agreeing to.
So, was it expensive. It was, and we wish it wasn't necessary. But if you did indeed take the rides described then you confirmed the price which was very up front, and then entered the multiple you read into a text box in order to double confirm.
Airlines and Hotels and even the Indian railways are more expensive during busy times. Uber is as well. Contrary to the claims in the petition, we don't just charge to make a buck - we take a small fee of the transaction, and the vast majority of the fare goes to the driver so that we can maximize the number of drivers on the road. The point is in order to provide you with a reliable ride, prices need to go up.
If you have other ideas for how to provide a reliable ride during busy times, we are all ears. Feel free to reach out to us on [email protected]. In the end, Uber is reliable, always, and we will create a system that maximizes the number of people that can get safe and reliable rides. Consumers always have a choice to take a surged trip. Not surging is saying you shouldn't have the option. Not surging is saying we should be just like a taxi and be unreliable when people need us most. These are outcomes that take choices away from the consumer and make it harder to get around cities - these are outcomes that we put a lot of hard work in to avoid so that at least you have the choice if you want one.
Uber India
Petition linkUber regularly does surge pricing when demand outstrips supply. Remember, we do not own cars nor do we employ drivers. Higher prices are required in order to get cars on the road and keep them on the road during the busiest times. This maximizes the number of trips and minimizes the number of people stranded. The drivers have other options as well. In short, without Surge Pricing, there would be no car available at all.
Now granted, that the prices are significantly higher. BUT we notify every customer in big bold images in text, which each customer has to confirm in order to request. Furthermore, every customer also had to type in what the multiplier was in order to double confirm that they understood what they were agreeing to.
So, was it expensive. It was, and we wish it wasn't necessary. But if you did indeed take the rides described then you confirmed the price which was very up front, and then entered the multiple you read into a text box in order to double confirm.
Airlines and Hotels and even the Indian railways are more expensive during busy times. Uber is as well. Contrary to the claims in the petition, we don't just charge to make a buck - we take a small fee of the transaction, and the vast majority of the fare goes to the driver so that we can maximize the number of drivers on the road. The point is in order to provide you with a reliable ride, prices need to go up.
If you have other ideas for how to provide a reliable ride during busy times, we are all ears. Feel free to reach out to us on [email protected]. In the end, Uber is reliable, always, and we will create a system that maximizes the number of people that can get safe and reliable rides. Consumers always have a choice to take a surged trip. Not surging is saying you shouldn't have the option. Not surging is saying we should be just like a taxi and be unreliable when people need us most. These are outcomes that take choices away from the consumer and make it harder to get around cities - these are outcomes that we put a lot of hard work in to avoid so that at least you have the choice if you want one.
Uber India
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