Simply put Uber is an app for smartphones that let you summon a car to take you wherever you want to go. The company has had no shortage of bad press lately, it has even been accused to exploiting crises, mainly because of its surge pricing mechanism that bumps up prices when there’s more demand for cars. With a snowstorm expected to dump as much as two feet of snow from New York to Boston there will undoubtedly be demand for more rides, and Uber says that it will cap price surges so that riders don’t get hit with astronomical bills.
Uber’s surge pricing during Hurricane Sanday, which hit the East Coast back in 2012, brought bill shocks for many riders who didn’t think they would have to pay so much for a ride. The company later introduced alerts within its apps to warn users when surge pricing was in effect.
In an email sent to Bloomberg Uber has promised to cap dynamic pricing and that “all Uber proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts.”
At a press conference yesterday New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that “We are facing one of the largest snowstorms in the recorded history of this city,” terming the snowstorm “a serious problem.”
Public transport will be limited during this time and demand for services like Uber is going to rise. Hopefully riders won’t get bill shock this time around.
Filed in . Read more about Uber.