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Uber pledges to cap trip pricing during major emergencies
Today, Uber outlined a new set of guidelines regarding how the company will respond in the event of a crisis, such as a natural disaster or terrorist attack. The company's Global Security Center (GSC) monitors conditions in every area that Uber operates, around the clock. Once it detects that there is a problem, there are a few actions that Uber can take.
MoviePass’ surge pricing starts today
Last month, MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe announced that surge pricing would soon go into effect, charging customers a little extra for movies and showtimes that are especially popular. That added fee, which MoviePass is calling Peak Pricing, starts rolling out today to customers with a monthly plan as well as any new annual subscribers. When a film or a particular showtime is in high demand and subject to an additional fee, you'll see a little red lightning icon over the showtime. Any showtimes that are gaining in popularity and could have an added Peak Pricing fee soon will have a grey lightning icon above them.
Everything MoviePass does just makes things worse
I purchased a MoviePass membership back during a promotion. I paid $90 for a year of one movie a day, and got a MasterCard in the mail that I could use to purchase a ticket at the box office after checking in using the MoviePass app. The first month, I went to about 10 movies. The hassle of using a sometimes-buggy app and heading up to the counter one moviegoer at a time was worth the promise of free movies.
MoviePass will begin surge pricing next month
Business Insider reports today that MoviePass will start charging surge prices for certain movies during particular times. When the app deems a showing to be exceptionally popular, MoviePass will charge its subscribers an additional $2, according to CEO Mitch Lowe. "At certain times for certain films -- on opening weekend -- there could be an additional charge for films," he told Business Insider. The new pricing is set to take effect in July, but Lowe says subscribers to the annual plan will be exempt.
'Upfront' Uber pricing replaces estimates with guarantees
Soon, when you open up Uber and request a ride you'll see the pricing in a different way. Instead of its current method of displaying the rate (and multiplier, if surge pricing is in effect), with a fare estimate in a second screen, it will just display a guaranteed price to take you to your destination. Of course, that doesn't mean surge pricing is going away, just that it will already be figured in to the price you're quoted (with a "Fares are higher due to increased demand" note.)
Uber says you're willing to pay more when your phone is dying
It's no surprise that Uber knows a lot about its customers based on their use of its ride-hailing app. Speaking with NPR's Hidden Brain podcast this week, the company's head of economic research Keith Chen revealed when we're most likely to pay more for the service. As it turns out, riders tend to overlook the increased rates of surge pricing when their phone battery is running low.
Uber forced to suspend surge pricing in Delhi
Uber has announced that it will suspend surge pricing in Delhi after the government moved to protect locals from overcharging. The city is testing a Chinese-style odd-even rule to combat pollution, so only cars with odd (or even) license plates can drive on certain days. Uber had subsequently imposed surge pricing to encourage more drivers to pick up the slack. The city's leaders had other ideas, imposing a set tariff to prevent transport firms like Uber and Ola from taking advantage. According to Mashable, Uber fees had increased by up to five times the going rate.
Uber CEO faces class-action lawsuit over price fixing
After failing to get a class-action lawsuit dismissed, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick will go to court over price fixing claims. A US district court judge in New York ruled Kalanick has to face the class of passengers alleging that he conspired with drivers to set fares using an algorithm, including hiking rates during peak hours with so-called surge pricing. According to Reuters, district court judge Jed Rakoff ruled the plaintiffs "plausibly alleged a conspiracy" to fix pricing and that the class action could also pursue claims the set rates led to the demise other services, like Sidecar.
Uber caps Surge pricing at 3.9x during DC transit crisis
The DC metro system underwent an unprecedented 29-hour emergency shutdown for rail inspection and repairs on Wednesday, throwing the commutes of its 712,000 daily riders into chaos. Many of those riders will turn to Uber for transportation and the ridesharing company announced that it is capping Surge Pricing during this shutdown at 3.9x the standard rate.
Study: Uber's surge pricing doesn't translate to more drivers (updated)
Uber's surge pricing is ostensibly meant to put more drivers on the road and get you a timely trip during busy hours. But does it really? Not if you ask researchers at Northeastern University. They've conducted a study showing that surges don't necessarily lead to more drivers. After a month of hailing cars from points in Manhattan and San Francisco, they found that the number of rides sometimes went down -- drivers stayed away knowing that they'd likely get fewer customers at those higher rates.
You can only watch YACHT's music video when Uber surge pricing hits LA
The band YACHT has a new record coming out next month, and it's debuting a new music video to tease a new single. However, you won't be able to click over to YouTube to watch. The video for "LA Plays Itself" can only be viewed when Uber's surge pricing goes into effect in Los Angeles. Increased demand for the ride-sharing service unlocks the song so the city (kind of) plays itself. What's more, when surge rates hit two times the norm, the band will spin a remix version of the track. As the band states, it's certainly a new take on the traffic jam.
Uber study finds that Uber surge pricing is Uber good
Unless, of course, you're the one paying for it.
Uber to limit surge pricing during massive east-coast blizzard (updated)
The east coast is about to get hit with a potentially record-breaking amount of snow, which means Uber has the opportunity to... redeem itself. The taxi-hailing app, notorious for hiking prices on holidays and during rush hour, says it will suspend cap surge pricing during the storm so that prices don't go above 2.8x the normal rate. This marks a change of heart from Uber, and possibly a smarter PR strategy, too: The company has been beset by a wave of bad press over the past few months. In particular, it's been criticized for raising prices during various emergencies and natural disasters, including Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and a hostage crisis in Sydney, Australia last December.
Uber adds surge pricing push notifications to its iOS app
A week after Uber CEO Travis Kalanick promised push notifications were on the way to help riders cope with surge pricing, the outfit has added the feature to its iOS app. With the latest update, those handset-based pop-ups alert you when the dreaded surge pricing window has passed and replace SMS messages for updates. For customers in the UK, PayPal integration has also been tacked on as an alternate payment option. No word on when Android users can expect the new alerts, but we'd surmise it's not too far out as add-ons have been quick to grace both OSes in the past. Update: Uber has just published a blog post announcing the new Surge Drop feature.
