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Surge pricing is back! This time it’s has new aliases. Days after global taxi aggregator <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> rolled out its ‘upfront fares’ tariff, <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> has not been left wanting either. The Bengaluru-based online transport app has introduced ‘low peak pricing’. 
 
Have things changed? Well, yes and no. The earlier version of the app would display the surge pricing tariff as ‘1.5x’ or ‘1.8x’, now a customer gets to see the actual rate per kilometer applicable at the time of booking. Ola claims this lets one know beforehand how much his/her ride will cost. 
 
That’s all fine. However, this is not the death of surge pricing as the tariff is still based on the demand, traffic and other factors. As for Uber, its ‘upfront fares’ is a clear indication that surge pricing is here to stay. 
 
This comes after the two online taxi aggregators were directed by several state governments to end surge pricing based on a barrage of protests and complaints from customers and taxi unions. Uber had rolled back its surge model in Delhi last month, agreeing to charge a per-kilometer fare and not exceed the government-prescribed rate. The Karnataka government has even threatened to ban Uber in the state if it doesn’t say goodbye to surge pricing. 
 
On Monday, Ola filed in the Karnataka High Court saying that it has complied with all requirements to continue operating. This was to counter to a petition by rival Uber India which challenged the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregator Rules, 2016. 
 
Both Ola and Uber have been fighting a bloody price war. Both firms have been offering discounts to customers to gain more market share. 
 
<a href="http://d.fastcompany.net/multisite_files/fastcompany/imagecache/1280/poster/2015/07/3049296-poster-p-1-tech-forecastuber-will-invest-1-billion-in-india-by-2016.jpg">Image Source</a>

Uber and Ola have rolled out surge pricing, but under new garbs

Leading cab-aggregator app <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> has said that its riders in the US and in some parts of India will now get to see 'upfront fare', so that they can know how much their ride is going to cost. 
 
The upfront fare will be calculated based on the distance, expected travel time, traffic situation, surge and tolls wherever applicable. 
 
The move will also help the US-based firm address ‘surge pricing’, its only weak spot, which has earned it quite some wrath from users and governments alike. 
 "We moved to upfront, per trip fares--just like airlines and hotels--two years ago when we launched <keyword id="6591085" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="UberPool">uberPOOL</keyword>... So in April, we began slowly introducing upfront fares for regular uberX trips in cities across the US and more recently in India, with more to follow," said a <a href="https://newsroom.uber.com/upfront-fares-no-math-and-no-surprises/">blogpost </a>from Uber product managers Arundhati Singh and Dennis Zhao. 
 
In India, Uber users from the cities of New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai have already started seeing the new upfront fares, and it would take the company a few months to roll out the features globally. 
 
The new feature would ask the riders to enter their destinations, so that Uber can calculate the fare in advance and reflect it before bookings are done. 
 
"Knowing how much a ride will cost in advance is clearly something riders appreciate: today uberPOOL accounts for over 20 per cent of all rides globally. And we now want more riders globally to benefit from this feature," the blogpost said. 
 
<a href="https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/uber-person-phone-e1462398390533.jpg?quality=80&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1600">Image source</a>

Surge pricing no more! Uber rolls out 'upfront fares' in US and some parts of India

In preparation for New Years Eve, people are screaming about <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword>'s <keyword id="6405687" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Surge-Pricing">surge pricing</keyword> again.
On especially busy nights, Travis Kalanick's on-demand car service jacks up its prices to help drive down demand for the limited number of vehicles on the road. Uber, says Kalanick, is a guaranteed reliable ride. It's not necessarily an affordable one. After all, the company was founded as a luxury, black-car service that was more expensive than cabs.
Surge pricing is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-surge-pricing-on-new-years-eve-2013-12">easy to complain about</a>. But it isn't really why people are angry with Uber. Most people understand that there needs to be a way to manage supply and demand. Uber also makes it very clear that a user will be charged a higher multiple before a ride is accepted during surge pricing. On New Years Eve, Uber even makes customers re-type the surge multiple before sending a driver their way.
What enrages people is the lack of transparency during surge pricing. It leaves them feeling ripped off because Uber doesn't explain two things:
<ul>
<li>Why the high multiples are in effect</li>
<li>Where the money goes after an absurdly expensive trip. </li>
</ul>
Uber says its algorithms choose which multiple to display during surge pricing. But it doesn't explain how those algorithms work in real time. How much demand created that absurdly-high 8X multiple, for example? How many pings was Uber's service getting per driver? A simple feature to show demand in real time would appease a lot of whiners.
Additionally, Uber takes 20% of every fare; drivers keep 80%. Uber maintains that 20/80 split with drivers during surge pricing. As a result, everyone benefits financially except the consumer, whose benefit is not being stranded. It'd be interesting to see just how much money Uber makes (or loses) during surge pricing. The assumption is it makes a killing by charging 2-8X its normal rate, which upsets users who then feel ripped off. But if multiples get too high for customers, the company probably loses money until supply and demand even out.
Basically, surge pricing leads to a communication and trust breakdown between Uber and its consumers. Only showing one side of the equation (surge pricing without the real-time demand that's driving it) doesn't manage people's expectations. Instead, it leaves many feeling cheated.
Think about why navigation app Waze is popular. It shows people why they're waiting in traffic and thus offers an explanation for a frustrating experience. On a more basic level, think about the best waiters at busy restaurants. They let you know where your food is and why it hasn't been brought out yet. 
People have a lot more patience when they're presented with logical explanations. Surge pricing without an explanation, however, doesn't appear logical.
Here's <a href="https://twitter.com/andrewrsorkin/status/417736427573899264">a good debate on surge pricing</a> (and the frustrating results of it) on Twitter.

People Aren't Actually Mad At Uber For Using Surge Pricing

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>A new bill introduced by New York Assemblyman Felix Ortiz would ban Uber's surge pricing feature altogether.Ortiz, a Brooklyn Democrat, <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/02/8562248/bill-would-ban-surge-pricing-uber-rideshare-services">formally introduced the legislation in Albany last month</a>.It takes aim at services like Uber and Lyft, banning their dynamic pricing models - Uber's "surge pricing" and Lyft's "prime time" feature. Companies would also face a $250 fine every time this kind of dynamic pricing occurs. "I understand that the mechanism here is that if you can afford it you pay for it, but I believe our role is to ensure we can protect the consumer," <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/02/8562248/bill-would-ban-surge-pricing-uber-rideshare-services">Ortiz said</a>.It's not the first time a politician has introduced legislation considered to be pro-consumer and anti-price gouging, specifically directed at ridesharing services like Uber. In January, Councilman David G. Greenfield introduced a bill that would cap surge pricing in New York City at 100% the normal rates.But, these politicians are wrong to try to ban and further cap surge pricing.Uber's surge pricing feature is great for the company's business, since Uber keeps a fixed percent of fares. When Uber's surge price multiplier kicks in, Uber makes more money. Uber says that by raising its prices, it encourages its supply - drivers - to get out on the road to keep up with increased demand. "Uber's dynamic-pricing model benefits both consumers and drivers," Uber's public-policy expert Colin Tooze said at a City Council meeting, as reported by <a href="http://nypost.com/2015/01/13/uber-says-surge-pricing-benefits-customers/" target="_blank" title="Opens in a new window">the New York Post</a>. "If prices were artificially capped within the normal course of business, consumers would be unable to utilize our safe, convenient transportation option because demand would simply overwhelm the available supply. When fares have increased, we repeatedly communicate that fact to the user."But, while surge pricing helps the company, it's also great for drivers, which stand to make much more money during surge pricing <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-drivers-say-theyre-making-less-than-minimum-wage-2014-10">than they usually do</a>. Uber's New York City drivers have protested in the past, saying they're not making anywhere close to the $90,000 salary once promised to them by Uber. When there's surge pricing, though, drivers can break even on their costs (which, since they're independent contractors for the company, include gas, insurance, maintenance, detailing, and more) or even make a little extra.Surge pricing relies heavily on customer responsibility. Some say this is a bad thing, that it takes advantage of inebriated customers looking for a ride home after a night out.Maybe this argument would have worked when Uber was still new. But now it's basically ubiquitous. You already know what to expect with Uber, for no other reason than the multitude of negative surge pricing stories that are written after every major drinking holiday.You might be familiar with these: Someone posts a screenshot of their sky-high Uber bill from the night before to Twitter or Facebook or Instagram, complaining about being ripped off. People write the stories. Uber backtracks, apologizes, and usually refunds the complainer.Uber should not have to do this.Uber never springs surge pricing on you - you're always consciously acknowledging what you pay for. When surge pricing happens, you'll be notified before you can even hail the car. Uber's app puts it in big, bold print so you can't miss it. And when surge pricing rates are more than 2x, customers have to type in the multiplier to make sure they know what to expect.Uber is by no means unique in this sort of dynamic-pricing strategy. For years, airlines have used similar tactics to sell tickets and hotels use dynamic pricing to book rooms, especially during busy holiday seasons. What makes Uber different is that the company is at least upfront and transparent about how much you're going to pay when the price spikes.Josh Mohrer, Uber's New York City general manager, <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/surge-pricing-isn-money-uber-official-insists-article-1.2111533">told the New York Daily News' editorial board</a> that surge pricing "isn't ultimately about more dollars in the bank." Instead, he says, surge pricing is purely about getting drivers on the road to keep up with consumer demand.Uber is a relatively new and quickly growing business. It does not have any sort of responsibility to its customers to keep prices low. It is trying to make money, as companies often want to do. There's no shame in that, though it's understandable why an Uber spokesperson would couch a discussion about the controversial surge pricing feature as a solution to a supply-and-demand problem.Uber can increase fares 900% when demand is greater than supply. It's come under criticism by customers in the past; Uber instituted surge pricing during Hurricane Sandy, and customers <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/08/uber-surge-pricing_n_5568087.html">accused the company of unfairly profiting</a> from the natural disaster.Uber learned its lesson after that. The company worked with New York's attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, to lower surge pricing when natural disasters strike. Schneiderman's office also closely monitored the company during New York's recent snowstorm to ensure surge pricing didn't get too high.Ultimately, it's up to you whether you want to pay for surge pricing. People engaging in debates about Uber and the fairness of its surge pricing seem to forget Uber isn't, and has never been, the only mode of transportation in New York City. Before Uber got to New York, what did these people do to get from point A to point B? If you're not down with surge pricing, you can still just hail a cab, walk, or take the subway or bus. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-dream-doghouse-dog-high-tech-2015-3">Samsung has designed a $39,000 high-tech doghouse with a treadmill and hot tub</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="tidXByczruN3KNslU52oFOfufJ3A_aiA" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

A New York City politician wants to ban Uber's surge pricing - but that's a terrible idea

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>People love Uber because it's convenient. You tap a couple buttons on your phone and a car comes and whisks you away.
If there's one customer complaint about the company, though, it's probably surge pricing, when the company drives up fare prices during times of high demand.
Uber's surge pricing policy - as well as the "dynamic pricing" policies of other startups like Lyft - came under fire Monday at a New York City Council transportation committee hearing.
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/13/nyregion/new-york-city-council-discusses-cap-on-prices-charged-by-car-service-apps-during-peak-times.html?smid=tw-nytmetro&amp;_r=0">According to the New York Times</a>, Councilman David G. Greenfield introduced a bill that would cap surge pricing at 100 percent of normal rates.
Uber's surge pricing feature is great for the company's business, since Uber keeps a fixed percent of fares. When Uber's surge price multiplier kicks in, Uber makes more money. Uber says that by raising its prices, it encourages its supply - drivers - to get out on the road to keep up with increased demand. 
"Uber's dynamic-pricing model benefits both consumers and drivers," said Uber public-policy expert Colin Tooze, as reported by <a href="http://nypost.com/2015/01/13/uber-says-surge-pricing-benefits-customers/" target="_blank" title="Opens in a new window">the New York Post</a>. "If prices were artificially capped within the normal course of business, consumers would be unable to utilize our safe, convenient transportation option because demand would simply overwhelm the available supply. When fares have increased, we repeatedly communicate that fact to the user."
Uber will never spring surge pricing on you without you consciously acknowledging what you're paying for. When surge pricing is happening, you'll be notified before you can even hail the car. Uber's app puts it in big, bold print so you can't miss it. And when surge pricing rates are more than 2x, customers have to type in the multiplier to make sure they know what to expect.
Uber can increase fares 900 percent when demand is greater than supply. It's come under criticism by customers in the past; Uber instituted surge pricing during Hurricane Sandy and customers <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/08/uber-surge-pricing_n_5568087.html">accused the company of unfairly profiting</a> from the natural disaster. As a result, Uber worked with New York's attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, to lower surge pricing when natural disaster strikes.
Councilman Greenfield said at the hearing that though he loves Uber as a product, he thinks customers are being taken advantage of by bloated Uber rates. "If it looks like price-gouging, if it sounds price-gouging, it is probably price-gouging," he said.
"Many of our cabbies are immigrants who are being punished by a $40 billion corporation," Greenfield said, referring to Uber. "It's quashing the American dream here in New York City."
Capping Uber's surge prices "would be un-American," <a href="http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20150112/POLITICS/150119975/officials-take-aim-at-uber-surge-pricing">Councilman Antonio Reynoso said at the hearing</a>. "Let the market drive the price." Reynoso added that Uber supplements New York's green Boro Taxis in the city's outer boroughs.
Uber is by no means unique in its dynamic pricing strategy. Airlines have similar tactics to sell tickets and hotels use dynamic pricing to book rooms, especially during busy holiday seasons. As <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/01/08/uber_surge_pricing_more_transparency_than_people_want.html">Matt Yglesias pointed out in Slate</a>, what makes Uber different is that the company is at least upfront and transparent about how much you're going to pay when the price spikes. 
The New York City Council transportation committee plans to hold another hearing about Greenfield's bill later this month, the Times reports.

New York City Might Cap Uber Surge Pricing

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>On Thursday, Uber received an "F" grade from the Better Business Bureau, the <a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/uber-flunks-the-better-business-bureau-test/?_php=true&amp;_type=blogs&amp;smid=tw-nytimesbits&amp;_r=0">New York Times reports</a>. It's the lowest rating that the independent organization assigns to businesses.
Founded in 1912, the <a href="http://www.bbb.org/">Better Business Bureau</a> is the nonprofit responsible for serving as the intermediary between consumers and businesses, handling disputes and alerting the public to scams, among other things. 
Most of the complaints on Uber's <a href="http://www.bbb.org/greater-san-francisco/business-reviews/transportation-services/uber-technologies-in-san-francisco-ca-438996/complaints">Better Business Bureau page for the </a><a href="http://www.bbb.org/greater-san-francisco/business-reviews/transportation-services/uber-technologies-in-san-francisco-ca-438996/complaints">San Francisco Bay Area</a> come from customers upset about the company's surge pricing practice. More than 90 customers, many of whom feel misled about Uber's surge pricing policy, have left comments on the website. Surge pricing occurs when there's a high demand for Uber cars - on holidays like New Year's Eve, during inclement weather, or weekend nights, for example.
There's been <a href="http://www.npr.org/2014/09/24/351074909/uber-criticized-for-surge-pricing">many</a> <a href="http://www.kvue.com/story/news/local/2014/10/09/uber-prices-increase-up-to-500-during-peak-acl-times/16955011/">stories</a> of <a href="http://www.10news.com/lifestyle/19-mile-uber-ride-to-pepsi-center-for-elton-john-concert-cost-woman-106-ride-home-cost-443-092314">Uber customers upset</a> when they receive the receipt for their Uber ride taken during surge pricing, even though the company warns users about this before you can even request a ride. <a href="https://support.uber.com/hc/en-us/articles/201836656-What-is-surge-pricing-and-how-does-it-work-">From Uber's website</a>:
<div class="article-body">
<blockquote class="blockquote">
With surge pricing, Uber rates increase to get more cars on the road and ensure reliability during the busiest times. When enough cars are on the road, prices go back down to normal levels. It's important to know that you'll always be notified in big, bold print if surge pricing is in effect. 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. 
</blockquote>
This practice isn't exclusive to Uber; rival Lyft has its own equivalent of surge pricing called <a href="https://www.lyft.com/help/article/1353884">Prime Time</a>, and as the New York Times rightly points out, Lyft has also received an "F" from the Better Business Bureau, <a href="http://www.bbb.org/greater-san-francisco/business-reviews/social-networking/lyft-in-san-francisco-ca-379827">though with far fewer complaints</a>. And Uber's latest target, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/new-uber-backed-campaign-about-taxis-2014-10">the taxi industry</a>, doesn't have a great record either; <a href="https://www.baycitizen.org/news/transportation/cab-complaints-climb-san-francisco/">according to the Bay Citizen</a>, more than 1,700 passenger complaints were made about Bay Area taxis between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012.
We have reached out to Uber for comment and will update when we hear back.
</div>

Complaints About Uber Surge Pricing Caused The Better Business Bureau To Give The Company An 'F'

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Flickr/FortuneUber CEO Travis Kalanick at Fortune's Brainstorm conference in June 2013.</div></div></div>Uber has <a href="http://newsroom.uber.com/2015/09/the-effects-of-ubers-surge-pricing/">published a case study</a> showing the effect that its surge pricing system has on the number of drivers available when lots of people want rides.The study, conducted by Chris Nosko, an Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, used data provided by Uber to examine what happened when surge pricing kicked in after a concert by singer Ariana Grande finished at Madison Square Garden in New York.Here's a look at the percentage change of people opening Uber, and the increase in ride requests, on the night of the concert:<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">Uber</div></div></div>When the concert finished at around 10.40 PM, the number of people opening the Uber app and requesting rides increased dramatically. That's when Uber's surge pricing kicks in - more people want rides, so the price of rides increases.This chart shows how the percentage change in drivers in the area increased following the surge pricing kicking into action:<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">Uber</div></div></div><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">UberThis is how Uber drivers see surge pricing.</div></div></div>The study stops short of explicitly saying that surge pricing caused more drivers to work in the area. Instead, it says that drivers may have known ahead of time that the concert was ending, so it might not have been the surge pricing that brought them all there.However, we do know that Uber drivers actively try and "chase" surge pricing as it appears.<a href="http://uberpeople.net/threads/should-i-drive-to-a-surge-city-that-has-2-mi-rate.36078/"> There are multiple threads on Uber driver forum</a> Uber People about drivers traveling to areas with surge pricing, as that will mean that they get paid more.Drivers often spend their evenings moving to different parts of the city in order to be where the high surge pricing areas are. As you can see in the screenshot on the right, areas with surge pricing in effect light up red on the driver app.The case study also gives an interesting example of what happens to Uber when surge pricing isn't in effect, but lots of people still want rides.Nosko writes that Uber's surge pricing system broke down for 26 minutes, due to a glitch, on New Year's Eve 2014.Here is a chart showing that: <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">Uber</div></div></div>Here's what happened to the percentage of completed ride requests over the same night:<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">Uber</div></div></div>When Uber's surge system went down, so did the number of Uber drivers who were available to gives rides to passengers. Around 100% of ride requests were fulfilled until 12.30am, when the outage began. At that point, the percentage of fulfilled requests dropped to less than 20%. Clearly the demand was there, but the drivers weren't.Uber's surge pricing is controversial. Back in 2014 <a href="http://gawker.com/uber-turned-on-surge-pricing-for-people-fleeing-sydney-1671193132">Uber was criticised for surge pricing</a> coming into effect following a hostage crisis in a Sydney cafe. But the important thing to remember here is that Uber doesn't manually turn surge pricing on - it's an automated system that reacts to demand.People hate surge pricing because they can feel that Uber is increasing the cost of its service just when they need it the most. But Uber's case study argues that actually surge pricing is a good thing. If you really need to get a car, then surge pricing means that there will be cars available for you. And the charts show that the new drivers pulled in by the surge stay on the roads in increased numbers for long after the surge ends.However, we need to bear in mind where this study comes from. This isn't an independent, peer-reviewed case study. Instead, it's co-written by two Uber employees, commissioned by Uber, and uses data provided by Uber. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/animated-map-global-fiber-optic-internet-cables-2015-9">Animated map reveals the 550,000 miles of cable hidden under the ocean that power the internet</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="1iNHI3dzr1l7P_ZGDpqWJC3kUle6Dsan" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

These elegant charts show why Uber's hated surge pricing is actually a good thing

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>Surge pricing is Economics 101, mobile ride-hailing company Uber preaches. If you want supply to keep up with increasing demand, you need to incentivize drivers to get on the road and come pick you up.
"By *raising* the price you *increase* the number of cars on the road and maximize the number of safe convenient rides," <a href="http://blog.uber.com/2012/01/03/surge-pricing-followup/">Uber explained in a surge price blog post</a>. "Nobody is required to take an Uber, but having a reliable option is what we're shooting for".
Throughout the company's four-year history, some high surge prices have been documented. Jessica Seinfeld, wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jerry-seinfelds-wife-spent-415-during-ubers-surge-pricing-2013-12">once spent $415 during a snowstorm</a> with ~ 8X surge pricing. Last New Years, some New Yorkers <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-new-years-eve-surge-pricing-2014-1">paid as much as $350</a> for a quick Uber ride during surge.
Technically, there's no cap on how high Uber surge pricing can go, unless there's some sort of <a href="http://ag.ny.gov/press-release/ag-schneiderman-announces-agreement-uber-cap-pricing-during-emergencies-and-natural">natural disaster or public emergency</a> in the US. Then, Uber is required to cap its surge pricing at "the normal range of prices it charged in the preceding sixty days," excluding the three highest fares during that timeframe.
That 8X surge is nothing close to Uber's high, however. In Stockholm late last year, the company "tested" demand at a 50X surge. 
That 50X multiple is consistent with what an Uber engineer reportedly wrote on Quora in 2012 about the company's internal surge cap (the comment appears to have been removed since). From <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2012/01/03/car-service-uber-passes-economics-test-fails-marketing/">VentureBeat</a>:
"It's possible that Uber also has a maximum multiplier, but the company doesn't mention a cap on its web site and hasn't responded to several requests for comment on this story. Someone identifying themselves as an Uber engineer did, however, leave the following response on Q&amp;A site Quora: "Our hard limit for the auto adjusting was 50x (lol)."
Apparently no users accepted an Uber ride at that price, and the 50X surge seemed to be a glitch that was quickly fixed by Uber's team (it wasn't as though surge pricing ticked up slowly from 40.9X to 50X and tipped due to demand). In other words, Uber's 50X pricing wasn't dynamic pricing.
Still, it was crazy enough that Uber called out the 50X surge in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-revenue-rides-drivers-and-fares-2014-11">an internal presentation obtained by Business Insider.</a>
"Special mention [to Stockholm] for testing demand at 50X," the presentation reads.
Here's a screenshot of what's possibly the world's highest Uber surge multiple ever documented. 425,00 kr is equivalent to $57 per minute. So a five-minute ride at this surge multiple would cost you about $285.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"></div></div>

Is This The Highest Surge Price Ever Recorded In Uber History?

People love Uber because it's convenient. You tap a couple buttons on your phone and a car comes and picks you up.
If there's one customer complaint about the company, though, it's probably surge pricing, when the company drives up fare prices during times of high demand.
Uber's surge pricing feature is great for the company's business, since Uber keeps a fixed percent of fares. When Uber's surge price multiplier kicks in, Uber makes more money. It's come under criticism by customers in the past; Uber instituted surge pricing during Hurricane Sandy and customers&#xa0;<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/08/uber-surge-pricing_n_5568087.html">accused the company of unfairly profiting</a>&#xa0;from the natural disaster. As a result, Uber later said it would restrict surge pricing during emergencies.&#xa0;
But Uber says the goal is to make sure the supply of drivers will catch up with the number of rides being requested.&#xa0;
"By *raising* the price you *increase* the number of cars on the road and maximize the number of safe convenient rides,"&#xa0;<a href="http://blog.uber.com/2012/01/03/surge-pricing-followup/">Uber explains in a blog post on surge pricing</a>. "Nobody is required to take an Uber, but having a reliable option is what we're shooting for."
&#xa0;
Soon, Uber's surge pricing could be Uber's alone.
Uber <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-18/uber-seeks-to-patent-pricing-surges-that-critics-call-gouging.html">has applied for at least 24 patents globally</a>, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Among them was a patent for "dynamically adjusting prices for service" on mobile devices. That sounds a lot like surge pricing. That patent is still pending.
Ten of the 13 patents Uber's filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have been denied for being too obvious or other reasons.&#xa0;But Uber continues to push for patents.
If the patents are granted and upheld, Uber could theoretically extract license fees from competitors who do the same thing, like Lyft (which calls its surge pricing "Prime Time"), or force them to adopt different tactics.

Uber Is Trying To Patent Everyone's Least Favorite Part Of Uber

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Uber</div></div></div>Halloween is one of Uber's busiest nights of the year.When there's high demand for Uber vehicles on holidays like Halloween, though, there's also bound to be surge pricing, a feature most Uber users aren't crazy about.Surge pricing happens when there's a high demand for Uber vehicles in a particular area. During times of high demand - on weekend nights, on holidays, or during bad weather - Uber enacts <a href="https://support.uber.com/hc/en-us/articles/201836656-What-is-surge-pricing-and-how-does-it-work-">surge pricing</a>, which charges a multiplier on every fare during busy times. Uber says that by raising its prices, it encourages its supply - drivers - to get out on the road to keep up with increased demand. Uber will never spring surge pricing on you without you consciously acknowledging what you're paying for. When surge pricing is happening, you'll be notified before you can even hail the car. Uber's app puts it in big, bold print so you can't miss it. And when surge pricing rates are more than 2x, customers have to type in the multiplier to make sure they know what to expect.This doesn't stop people from complaining about surge pricing. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Business Insider AustraliaWhat surge pricing looks like on your phone.</div></div></div>Sometimes the complaints seem more justified than others: Last December, Uber Sydney temporarily <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-instituted-surge-pricing-during-a-hostage-siege-in-sydney-2014-12">activated surge pricing during a hostage crisis</a> in the city's central business district. The company said it was an attempt to get more drivers into the area to pick up people who didn't have a way home, but others saw it as opportunism, and <a href="https://twitter.com/Uber_Sydney/status/544319760809222144">took to Twitter to complain.</a> Soon after, Uber <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com.au/ubers-surge-pricing-quadrupled-fares-in-sydneys-cbd-then-a-backlash-saw-them-offer-free-rides-instead-2014-12#ixzz3NUBppkkm">made all rides home from Sydney's central business district free</a>.However, people are far less justified in their complaints when surge pricing is introduced to get people home from bar crawls or on holidays that encourage people to go out. That doesn't stop irate customers from screenshotting their Uber bill and posting it on Instagram or Twitter in outrage.On days after holidays when demand for Uber is high, sticker-shocked customers complain about their Uber bills. For instance, one woman in Baltimore awoke the day after Halloween last year to discover <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/women-raises-362-to-pay-for-uber-ride-2014-11">she had taken a $362, 20-minute Uber ride the night before</a> and didn't have enough money to pay her rent. She posted a screenshot of her bill on Instagram and ended up crowdfunding $512 on GoFund.Me the next day.In light of complaints from angry customers, Uber has begun to pull out all the stops to let its customers know what to expect on nights with high surge pricing. The company warned users in a <a href="https://newsroom.uber.com/2015/10/halloween-ride-guide/">blog post last week</a> to check its fare estimate tool to avoid surge pricing on Halloween. Before New Year's Eve last year, Uber published a blog post telling customers when to expect to pay more for surge pricing.Uber also sent out an email to customers in New York City (and presumably in other markets, too) called "Read Before You Ride: How to Avoid Expensive Fares on New Year's." In it, Uber pretty explicitly lays out how you should go about planning your Uber ride so you can avoid high surge prices. It's nice of Uber to do this, but the company shouldn't have to apologize for surge pricing.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Reuters/Jim YoungA visitor to a house covered in Halloween decorations looks over the scene in the front yard in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Illinois.</div></div></div>Uber is a relatively new and quickly growing business. It does not have any sort of responsibility to its customers to keep prices low. It is trying to make money, as companies often want to do, and on nights like New Year's Eve, Uber stands to generate <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-new-years-eve-revenue-charts-2014-12">more than $100 million in revenue</a>. Uber is by no means unique in its dynamic pricing strategy, either. Airlines have similar tactics to sell tickets and hotels use dynamic pricing to book rooms, especially during busy holiday seasons. As <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/01/08/uber_surge_pricing_more_transparency_than_people_want.html">Matt Yglesias pointed out in Slate</a>, what makes Uber different is that the company is at least up front and transparent about how much you're going to pay when the price spikes.If you don't want to pay a crazy-high fare tonight, you're in luck because Uber is not the only method of <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="transportation">transportation</keyword> available and nobody is making you use Uber (or Lyft, or any other ride-hailing service). You can walk. You can try to call or hail a cab. You can take a subway or a bus if you live in a city. You can just stay home and have a party with your friends. Or you can wait a few hours, since Uber <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-the-best-times-to-hail-an-uber-and-beat-surge-pricing-on-new-years-eve-2014-12">expects the worst surges</a> to be between 12:30 and 2:30 a.m.

Stop complaining about Uber's surge pricing

Uber says it expects New Year's Eve to be <a href="http://blog.uber.com/NYE2014">its biggest night ever</a>. Uber plans to deliver 2 million rides on New Year's Eve this year.
When there's high demand for Uber vehicles on holidays like New Year's Eve, though, there's also bound to be surge pricing, a feature most Uber users aren't crazy about.
Surge pricing happens when there's a high demand for Uber vehicles in a particular area.&#xa0;During times of high demand - on weekend nights, on holidays, or during bad weather - Uber enacts&#xa0;<a href="https://support.uber.com/hc/en-us/articles/201836656-What-is-surge-pricing-and-how-does-it-work-">surge pricing</a>,&#xa0;which charges a multiplier on every fare during busy times. Uber says that by raising its prices, it encourages its supply - drivers - to get out on the road to keep up with increased demand.&#xa0;
Uber will never spring surge pricing on you without you consciously acknowledging what you're paying for. When surge pricing is happening, you'll be notified before you can even hail the car. Uber's app puts it in big, bold print so you can't miss it. And when surge pricing rates are more than 2x, customers have to type in the multiplier to make sure they know what to expect.
Of course, this doesn't stop people from complaining about surge pricing.&#xa0;
Sometimes the complaints seem more justified than others: Earlier in December, Uber Sydney temporarily&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-instituted-surge-pricing-during-a-hostage-siege-in-sydney-2014-12">activated surge pricing during a hostage crisis</a>&#xa0;in the city's central business district. The company said it was an attempt to get more drivers into the area to pick up people who didn't have a way home, but others saw it as opportunism, and&#xa0;<a href="https://twitter.com/Uber_Sydney/status/544319760809222144">took to Twitter to complain.</a>&#xa0;Soon after, Uber&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com.au/ubers-surge-pricing-quadrupled-fares-in-sydneys-cbd-then-a-backlash-saw-them-offer-free-rides-instead-2014-12#ixzz3NUBppkkm">made all rides home from Sydney's central business district free</a>.
However, people are far less justified in their complaints when surge pricing is introduced to get people home from bar crawls or holidays that encourage people to go out. Of course, that doesn't stop irate customers from screenshotting their Uber bill and posting it on Instagram or Twitter in outrage.
On days after holidays when demand for Uber is high, sticker-shocked customers complain about their Uber bills. For instance, one woman in Baltimore awoke the day after Halloween to discover&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/women-raises-362-to-pay-for-uber-ride-2014-11">she had taken a $362, 20-minute Uber ride the night before</a>&#xa0;and didn't have enough money to pay her rent. She posted a screenshot of her bill on Instagram and ended up crowdfunding $512 on GoFund.Me the next day.
In light of complaints from angry customers, Uber is pulling out all the stops this week to let its customers know what to expect on New Year's Eve. On Tuesday, Uber published a blog post telling customers when to expect to pay more for surge pricing.
Uber also sent out an email to customers in New York City (and presumably in other markets, too) called "Read Before You Ride: How to Avoid Expensive Fares on New Year's." In it, Uber pretty explicitly lays out how you should go about planning your Uber ride so you can avoid high surge prices.&#xa0;
It's nice of Uber to do this, but the company shouldn't have to apologize&#xa0;for surge pricing.
Uber is a relatively new and quickly growing business. It does not have any sort of responsibility to its customers to keep prices low. It is trying to make money, as companies often want to do, and tonight Uber will likely generate&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-new-years-eve-revenue-charts-2014-12">more than $100 million in revenue</a>.&#xa0; 
Uber is by no means unique in its dynamic pricing strategy, either. Airlines have similar tactics to sell tickets and hotels use dynamic pricing to book rooms, especially during busy holiday seasons. As&#xa0;<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/01/08/uber_surge_pricing_more_transparency_than_people_want.html">Matt Yglesias&#xa0;pointed out in Slate</a> earlier this year, what makes Uber different is that the company is at least upfront and transparent about how much you're going to pay when the price spikes.
If you don't want to pay a crazy-high fare tonight, you're in luck because Uber is not the only method of transportation available and nobody is making you use Uber (or Lyft, or any other ride-hailing service). You can walk. You can try to call or hail a cab. You can take a subway or a bus if you live in a city. You can just stay home and have a party with your friends. Or you can wait a few hours, since Uber <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-the-best-times-to-hail-an-uber-and-beat-surge-pricing-on-new-years-eve-2014-12">expects the worst surges</a> to be between 12:30 and 2:30 a.m.

Stop Complaining About Uber's Surge Pricing

Uber predicts it'll have&#xa0;<a href="http://blog.uber.com/NYE2014">its biggest night ever</a>&#xa0;tonight, estimating it will provide 2 million rides to people coming home from bars and parties after ringing in the new year.
When there's high demand for Uber on holidays like New Year's Eve, there's also <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-surge-pricing-on-new-years-eve-2014-12">bound to be surge pricing</a>, a feature most Uber users aren't crazy about.
Surge pricing happens when there's a high demand for Uber in one particular area.&#xa0;During times of high demand - on weekend nights, on holidays, or during bad weather - Uber puts&#xa0;<a href="https://support.uber.com/hc/en-us/articles/201836656-What-is-surge-pricing-and-how-does-it-work-">surge pricing</a>&#xa0;into effect, and you get charged a multiplier of what your fare would typically be.&#xa0;Uber says that by raising its prices, it encourages its supply - drivers - to get out on the road to keep up with increased demand.&#xa0;
If you're looking for a way to skip surge pricing altogether, an app called SurgeProtector might solve your problems.
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/surgeprotector/id925613132?mt=8">SurgeProtector</a>&#xa0;was&#xa0;released in November. It uses Uber's API, which <a href="https://blog.uber.com/api">became&#xa0;available</a>&#xa0;in August,&#xa0;to&#xa0;find places close to you that don't have surge pricing. Once it locates a place nearby without surge pricing,&#xa0;SurgeProtector redirects you back to Uber's app so you can call an Uber to a surge-less place.
One of the app's developers,&#xa0;Thomas Schmidt, <a href="http://www.producthunt.com/posts/surgeprojector">said on Product Hunt</a> that he and his roommate created the app in about a weekend, and that Uber has been "super cool with supporting our API requests."
"We have an algorithm that calls locations around you that tries to get a regular price - it's surprisingly granular," Schmidt&#xa0;<a href="http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/11/how-you-yes-you-can-get-around-ubers-surge-pricing/">told Ars Technica</a>.&#xa0;"In places with high population density, it will be a difference of two to three blocks over, it can go from 2x surging to nothing. It's super useful in San Francisco."
If SurgeProtector can't find a place within a kilometer of you without surge pricing, it'll find you a place close by with the lowest surge pricing instead.&#xa0;
The downside is, of course, that you may have to walk a few blocks to get to your Uber's location. But it might be worth it if you're trying to avoid a high fare.

This App Will Help You Avoid Paying Uber Surge Prices Tonight

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>One of the more annoying parts of using Uber is surge pricing, its dynamic&#xa0;pricing feature that kicks in when demand is high.During times of high demand - on weekend nights, on holidays, or during bad weather - Uber enacts <a href="https://support.uber.com/hc/en-us/articles/201836656-What-is-surge-pricing-and-how-does-it-work-">surge pricing</a>, which charges a multiplier on every fare during busy times. Uber says that by raising its prices, it encourages its supply - drivers - to get out on the road to keep up with increased demand.&#xa0;&#xa0;<a href="http://www.gett.com/" target="_blank">Gett</a>, a startup that's been trying to take on Uber with aggressive advertising campaigns, no surge pricing, and low flat fares, says it has a new&#xa0;way to lure in Uber customers.Starting Tuesday, November 10, the startup will give its NYC customers&#xa0;free ride credits equivalent&#xa0;to what they paid in Uber Surge Price fees. The campaign is called Surge Sucks.Gett, which is available in 57 cities, will let customers sign up on its <a href="http://www.SurgeSucks.com">website</a>&#xa0;and then send their surge-priced ride receipts from Uber to Gett. Then, Gett will give customers ride credit equal to whatever they paid in surge pricing, rounded up to the nearest $5 increment. So, for example, if you had a $95.79 surge price receipt (God help you), it would get rounded up to $100 in Gett credit. Customers will be able to submit up to $100 in surge-priced receipts from Uber or from Lyft.&#xa0;&#xa0;Gett&#xa0;has run similar attention-grabbing campaigns in the past. In London, the company offered <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gett-is-launching-a-veuve-clicquot-champagne-delivery-service-in-london-2015-7">champagne delivery</a>, and last year in New York it offered <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/get-taxi-gettanything-2014-3">actual tattoos</a> to New York customers. Also, it advertises around New York with bold, Uber-attacking ads like this:<div></div>&#xa0;Uber is by no means unique in its dynamic pricing strategy. Airlines have similar tactics to sell tickets and hotels use dynamic pricing to book rooms, especially during busy holiday seasons. As <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/01/08/uber_surge_pricing_more_transparency_than_people_want.html">Matt Yglesias pointed out in Slate</a>, what makes Uber different is that the company is at least up front and transparent about how much you're going to pay when the price spikes. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gett-uber-flat-fares-surge-pricing-gmc-yukon-camry-2015-10">We tried the 'Uber-killer' that offers flat fares and no surge pricing</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="1ocmdjeDrP7UksbISVgKIAdKEOCnZQBg" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

A startup that's going after Uber will pay back your surge-price receipts for you

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>The Northeast is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/approaching-blizzard-could-bring-the-east-coast-to-a-standstill-2015-1">bracing itself for a major snow storm early this week</a>, with up to two feet of snow expected to blanket the area from Boston to New York City. New York governor Andrew Cuomo has warned that <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/weather/potentially-historic-blizzard-set-blanket-new-york-article-1.2091166">New York City's buses and subways could stop running</a> even before Monday's evening rush hour.
Uber, which has come under fire for its surge pricing feature, says it plans to cap surge pricing during the storm. 
"Dynamic pricing will be capped and all Uber proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts," Uber <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2015-01-26/uber-to-cap-car-service-price-surges-during-east-coast-snowstorm">said in an statement Monday to Businessweek</a>.
Uber's surge pricing kicks in when there's a high demand for Uber vehicles in a particular area. During times of high demand - on weekend nights, on holidays, or during bad weather - Uber enacts <a href="https://support.uber.com/hc/en-us/articles/201836656-What-is-surge-pricing-and-how-does-it-work-">surge pricing</a>, which charges a multiplier on every fare during busy times. Uber says that by raising its prices, it encourages its supply - drivers - to get out on the road to keep up with increased demand. 
Last year, the New York attorney general's office came to an agreement with Uber, which established a cap on Uber's surge pricing during states of emergency. Uber has received criticism for its surge pricing during weather-related emergencies, including Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The attorney general's office says it plans to monitor Uber during the storm to ensure surge pricing stays capped.
"Provided there is an abnormal disruption in the market during the expected storm, the Attorney General's Office will be monitoring all providers of essential services, including transportation, for price gouging. In addition, the office will be working with Uber to ensure last year's price cap agreement is in full effect," Elizabeth DeBold, the New York Attorney General's Deputy Press Secretary told Business Insider.

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