Uber riders - Beware
 

Better be careful if you order a Uber ride on New Years Eve. :rolleyes:
http://nypost.com/2013/12/23/cost-of...new-years-eve/

dh

A more appropriate title might be "Uber riders - Beware on New Years Eve.

Or - Nothing to beware of. Anytime there's peak or high-demand pricing for an Uber service, it shows up both when you select the service on the slide bar and then before you can actually transmit the request.

Uber is transparent about the minimum cost, cost per mile, and cost per minute. If it's higher than a cab, take a cab, If you live in a market with Lyft or Sidecar consider them. Lyft only does surge pricing in LA (called prime time tips can capped at just a 25% tip that goes directly to the driver).

As a driver for Uber and Lyft I can assure you that most of us would rather be home since most of the UberX and Lyft drivers are not professional drivers (unlike the other flavors of Uber), but by driving for Lyft and Uber I can afford a lot more first class travel so I will be Ubering in Charlotte on NYE.

I think Charlotte will only hit 2x at the highest though. NYC, SF, DC, and LA may be different stories though and depending on weather may hit 7x.

As far as I can tell all the NYC UberX drivers are licensed livery drivers. And this is the NYC forum...

I realized the forum after I posted so forgive me.

Seems like NYC may be an exception to the rule and this is the NYC forum, but in the majority of other cities there is no requirement for UberX drivers to have a commercial license.

I agree with this but Uber should show a surge fare estimate as it's not very clear how much the surge pricing is.
Cheers
Howie

Every time I've tried Uber, it has shown the estimated price and, if applicable, the surge per-minute and per-mile price.

Huh? It's completely clear. You have to click an acknowledgment of the increased price that lays it all out before you can even request a cab. On new years, they add another screen to inform even the drunkest people.

I think the surge pricing is a great idea. I've heard cab companies complain that it shifts the cost of getting extra vehicles on the street to the consumer, but the alternative - not getting a ride - is much worse.

New Year's Eve and people want to take taxis??? :D

I take that back as I used the BB app which doesn't have this feature and only a surge icon.

Honestly outside of Midtown I've never had that much trouble find a cab on NYE.

Just try on a rainy day. Makes it a whole lot more difficult to catch a cab.

I use Uber a lot in LA, SF, and NYC, and only once got dinged with surge pricing. It was in SF, during a BART strike. Cost was 2X normal from hotel to SFO. I was a little bummed at the time, but it was made clear before I ordered the Uber.

I also recall last year getting an email from Uber that surge pricing would be in place for NYE. Considering that one usually pays 2X for food, drinks, etc on NYE, it doesn't bother me that Uber charges more. Then again, we stay home on NYE and avoid all the chaos.

I just got this year's e-mail. Here's the blog version:

http://blog.uber.com/uber-nye-2014