News: Uber riders complain over massive surcharges for NYE - Page 5

TMTURKEY

Quote:

Originally posted by h.u.r.r.i.c.a.n.e

I know. Not saying everyone should walk, but I think people need to remember that there's nothing wrong with walking a half mile every once in a while instead of taking out the car or calling an uber.

agreed . no need to waste money when u have legs and feet and no other reasons as to why you cant

Newt

Quote:

Originally posted by Repo

You can use "drunk" as a defense when the party is actively going out of his or her way to manipulate drunk people (or get them drunk to manipulate them), but warnings about price surges were sent out before New Years, price surges have been around for a long time, and there is literally no way for an app to know if a person is drunk and able to be manipulated. People are just dumb

I mean, yea, that's exactly what I said when I posted that people were informed very clearly

NEUTRON

Quote:

Originally posted by G.U.Y. Gaga

I was surprised there wasn't a Baltimore surge charge. There usually always is

!!!

Retro

Quote:

Originally posted by Adonis

Uber said they were looking into the potential mistake. What else do you want them to do? What if it's not a mistake? I pay close attention to the surge pricing. Do you believe a drunk person or an algorithm that behaves the same regardless of the day? Why should I take someone's word for it?

Again, not even all of the part of my post I was referring to.

It's not just that one situation, and my bigger questions lie in whether the surge pricing model and its rates are actually economically appropriate.

As it stands with just a Buzzfeed article as our source, and with little public information available about the surge pricing model's inner workings, we can't really make absolute judgments about this case. It's not even just last night that potential problems with the model have been discussed, and other incidents (MSG concert, anyone?) have brought the company's calculations into question as well.

I mean, the Better Business Bureau gave them an F rating in 2014 for precisely this reason.

Melvin

9.9....
Oh gurl..

They can't be mad though, you have to confirm the surge amount before it even let's you request..

h.u.r.r.i.c.a.n.e

Quote:

Originally posted by LoKoPaNdA

Thank you for injecting some common sense into this thread Retro!

Retro is just agreeing that it's morally shaky/wrong but the gov't has nothing to do with it. Uber isn't even regulated by the gov't as of now.

Misanthrope

Quote:

Originally posted by Reductive

it literally pops up on your screen that there is surge pricing
how are people still getting caught off guard by this

9.9x though

its because the prices are getting ridiculous

and tbh, i once got an uber without having the option to choose the car. they literally sent the most expensive one for little ol' me and I was only going less than a mile to my destination. and he got lost picking me up and it charged me for it. it ended up being like 80 bucks. i wouldve complained if i werent drunk as hell when id finally realized how overpriced it was. i dont use uber anymore unless i pool, lyft and sidecar are better anyway.

Retro

I mean, yeah, the government probably won't get involved any time soon. Whether they should is a complex issue in and of itself that would bring out political sides arguing about government involvement and market self-regulation and all that, and it would just get ugly.

There could potentially be repercussions due to the pricing, in theory, but that would require someone to go through the effort of proving their surge model took/takes advantage of vulnerable customers, then they'd have to file a formal suit against them with substantial evidence of harm being done or laws being violated, and just in general I don't think that will probably happen even if someone can prove that the pricing model is egregious, and there's really no guarantee just yet that the model is anything but a hundred percent viable.

It's just a mess all around.

Adonis

Quote:

Originally posted by Retro

Again, not even all of the part of my post I was referring to.

It's not just that one situation, and my bigger questions lie in whether the surge pricing model and its rates are actually economically appropriate.

As it stands with just a Buzzfeed article as our source, and with little public information available about the surge pricing model's inner workings, we can't really make absolute judgments about this case. It's not even just last night that potential problems with the model have been discussed, and other incidents (MSG concert, anyone?) have brought the company's calculations into question as well.

I mean, the Better Business Bureau gave them an F rating in 2014 for precisely this reason.

I can see why they don't want to disclose their algorithm. It's giving away company secrets that others can copy. When I see surge pricing I just catch the public transportation that day or a cab that day. We can't make absolute judgements in this case.

What we do know is that there is one factor affecting people's perception of what happened and thats the fact that they've been drinking and partying until the late hours of the night. So what we do know is that the people making the allegations are in fact suspect from the jump. The same type of thing would apply to the casino where people are drinking and gambling etc.

I'm curious as to how Uber will respond. Uber has already stated that surge pricing is based on number of available drivers VS demand... not sure what else they should be disclosing that wouldn't be giving away company secrets. I don't have all the facts. What I have is people complaining about what should've been obvious.

EthaneFenty

It tells u the surge price so nobody should be surprised but I just waited till the surge ended to call the uber, they usually don't last long
9.9 is craaaazy tho, the most I've seen is 2.9

Adonis

Quote:

Originally posted by Misanthrope

its because the prices are getting ridiculous

and tbh, i once got an uber without having the option to choose the car. they literally sent the most expensive one for little ol' me and I was only going less than a mile to my destination. and he got lost picking me up and it charged me for it. it ended up being like 80 bucks. i wouldve complained if i werent drunk as hell when id finally realized how overpriced it was. i dont use uber anymore unless i pool, lyft and sidecar are better anyway.

Uber doesn't charge you based on how long it takes you to get there or the route you take. They charge you based where you are going and the level of service. I've had drivers get lost and we drive all over the place and the ride still only came out to $12 bucks...

Melvin

And 9 times out of ten...
(I've seen it happen tho, like 1 or 2 times)

But there's usually no surge on UberBLACK and UberSUV...

So those may have been a lot cheaper, and you'll arrive cuter...

TMTURKEY

Quote:

Originally posted by Melvin

And 9 times out of ten...
(I've seen it happen tho, like 1 or 2 times)

But there's usually no surge on UberBLACK and UberSUV...

So those may have been a lot cheaper, and you'll arrive cuter...

those type of Uber cost more than Uberx

Melvin

Quote:

Originally posted by TMTURKEY

those type of Uber cost more than Uberx

They do.

But at a ~9.9x surge for UberX and UberXL, if BLACK and SUV don't have a surge, they're significantly cheaper.

Adonis

http://www.dailydot.com/technology/u...ears-old-news/

Quote:

Uber says surge pricing helps make sure they can take everyone who needs a ride home safely. And on nights that often coincide with heavy drinking, having someone drive you home at the push of a button is a way to make that happen.

Quote:

At this point, the morning after posts about getting screwed by Uber have become something of a meme and a holiday tradition as much as popping champagne. But the thing is, people should stop acting so shocked.

fridayteenage

google mapped it. i walked 1.8 miles when it was near-freezing temperature, and it was fine.

so if you had a short distance, mebbe y'all could've done what multiple have suggested and found a way to get back w/o a car.

Jan

Quote:

Originally posted by fridayteenage

google mapped it. i walked 1.8 miles when it was near-freezing temperature, and it was fine.

so if you had a short distance, mebbe y'all could've done what multiple have suggested and found a way to get back w/o a car.

I don't do much sports but once in September I walked 12km, was very tired afterwards but made it. I also came back home from prom on foot, in January last year, in uncomfortable shoes (5km walk) and still managed.

None of you are 70+ ladies, not that you sound like them at least. Stop whining about unfair prices and paying ridiculous amounts of money for small lengths and start taking responsibilities stemming from contracts you sign (as I outlined before).