Taxi Driver Online

Uber under fire for massive price surge as soon as thunderstorm kicks in - with £5 trip costing up to £20

Uber bosses are under fire after prices surged during a thunderstorm , forcing some customers to pay more than four times their regular fare in a bid to avoid the bad weather. Prices with the popular taxi service are subject to ‘surge’ when their is a high demand - but some customers have been left frustrated after facing hefty prices for short journeys during treacherous conditions last night.

Decision-makers at Uber regularly increase prices for busy Friday and Saturday nights and say they were forced to do so again yesterday in Bristol with a high demand from customers. However, many were left irritated by the move, with one person telling Bristol Live they had to pay between £16 and £20 for a journey which normally costs £5 thanks to the weather. The distance of the journey is only about a mile, but the bad weather made catching a cab in such circumstances far more appealing than getting wet.

A statement on the Uber website regarding surge pricing says: "There are times when so many people are requesting rides that there aren’t enough cars on the road to help take them all. Bad weather, rush hour, and special events, for instance, may cause unusually large numbers of people to want to ride Uber all at the same time.

"In these cases of very high demand, fares may increase to help ensure those who need a ride can get one. This system is called surge pricing, and it lets us continue to be a reliable choice. "Whenever we raise rates due to surge pricing, we let riders know in the app. Some riders will choose to pay, while some will choose to wait a few minutes to see if the rates go back down to normal."

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IDFIMH

I think the idea of meters came in to being to stop unscrupulous drivers over charging and to ensure drivers /owners got enough income to pay for the running costs . Sometimes progress is so backward!

Do these moaners even know other taxi firms exist !!

It's quite simple - at the time of booking you're told how much the cost will be, if you don't like it DONT BOOK. If you agree to the price and book DONT COMPLAIN AFTERWARDS.!

It's like going into a fancy restaurant and ordering a £30 burger when there's a Mcdonalds next door, then complaining about how much you just paid for a burger. But then going back a week later to the same restaurant and ordering the same burger but this time paying £40 because it's busy, then complaining that last week you only paid £30 !!

Can't disagree with that.

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IDFIMH