Despite Uber’s increasing dominance in the world of ridesharing, not everybody is happy about some of the company's revenue boosting plans; namely, surge pricing. It has been a hotly debated topic, with many denouncing the practice as being scummy and expensive, while others point out that it follows the tenets of supply and demand that airlines and hotels follow too. If you don’t want to pay for surge pricing, the cost of which is shown onscreen and demands a typed confirmation by the passenger, then don’t take Uber, they say.
The most recent hubbub concerned a Halloween ride for a woman who claimed that while drunk, she agreed to a 20-minute ride at surge prices of 9x fare, which ended up costing her $362. In response, she turned to crowdfunding site GoFund.me with her sob story of being “sneakily” tricked on #Halloween, despite Uber sending out a message the day before warning of surge pricing, and making users confirm the surge before agreeing to it in-app. Somehow, the woman raised over $500 before the page was taken down.
Fear not, drunk, ignorant Uber users, because a recently released app called Surge Protector searches nearby areas for non-surge spots and calls an Uber to pick you up over there, making you walk a little to your cheaper ride. The new app is, of course, just one of many ways to avoid surge pricing. Other options include taking a cab, walking home (since you're already willing to make a small trek), and calling your mom to pick you up like in the good old days — surely she hasn’t heard from you in a while and would appreciate dragging your drunk ass home for the nth time. If you’ve moved too far from your parents, there is also a large bus called Muni. But if it's really just too far to walk and you can't part with your hard earned cash, and you just don't have a bike, you can always try harassing a cop, and who will then gracefully give you a ride, free of charge, to your nearest police station, from where you’ll probably figure out how to get home next.
Got a tip for The Bold Italic? Email tips@thebolditalic.com.