Sydney Hostage Situation Price Spike: Uber Hikes Prices, Then Offers Free Rides
Following the tense hostage situation in Sydney, Uber prices spiked to about four-times their usual fare and then the company offered free rides to nervous commuters.
Uber customers in and around the Sydney business district, where the hostage situation took place, starting on Monday, were being charged $100 (Australian dollars — about $82) for a ride, minimum. Mashable reports that normal fare is $25. The price spike in the wake of the hostage tragedy was received with outrage from customers trying to get home amid the chaotic situation in the largest city in Australia.
Even though the San Francisco-based company later on offered free rides to make up for the gaffe, frequent users of the service in the Central Business District of Sydney are irate. According to NBC News, the price hike was a result of the company’s controversial automatic surge pricing, but many saw it as the company trying to take advantage of the hostage situation.
In the wake of the deadly events in Sydney, public transit was left in a state of disarray, when several business, including some of the largest companies in the island nation, sent their employees home, Uber’s prices spiked to levels seen during holidays. The $40 billion successful start-up was forced to take to social media and explain the situation in several tweets, starting about three hours into the standoff.
We are all concerned with events in CBD. Fares have increased to encourage more drivers to come online & pick up passengers in the area.
— Uber Sydney (@Uber_Sydney) December 15, 2014
Uber Sydney trips from CBD will be free for riders. Higher rates are still in place to encourage drivers to get into the CBD.
— Uber Sydney (@Uber_Sydney) December 15, 2014
Uber rides out of the CBD today are free for all riders to help Sydneysiders get home safely. See http://t.co/UIwoom25Bm for more info.
— Uber Sydney (@Uber_Sydney) December 15, 2014
Our heartfelt thoughts and condolences go out to the victims and their families of this sad incident.
— Uber Sydney (@Uber_Sydney) December 15, 2014
Commuters and the public in general took to social media to express their disapproval of Uber’s price spike as a result of the hostage situation in Sydney. Here is what some people were saying on Twitter.
And I’m now officially done with @Uber, which is price gouging during AU hostage crisis. What sad sorry clowns. http://t.co/OTwTz3E8UM
— Seth Mnookin (@sethmnookin) December 15, 2014
Uber: Officially the worst. http://t.co/GUrp1lqoTO (HT: @bonniegrrl and @riding_red)
— John Scalzi (@scalzi) December 15, 2014
How can there not be a human being at Uber who can turn off the algorithm that leads to PR disasters like this? http://t.co/vcRjD0Byzw
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) December 15, 2014
To second the last comment, Uber found the hard way that it probably needs to revise the automatic price spike of its fees, — established to attract more drivers — as the Sydney hostage situation proved that not all high-demand events are created equal.
Where you stuck in Sydney during the hostage situation and tried to use Uber only to find they had a large spike in prices?
[Image via Twitter]
