Consumers don't like this. Many of us have a thing against, y'know, spending more money: In the UK, 71% of music fans polled last year said they opposed surge pricing for concerts. In the US, 52% of surveyed consumers said they think dynamic pricing in restaurants is equivalent to price gouging.
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“Prime Time, also called 'surge pricing' by Uber, is where you basically don't have enough driver supply, so you have to price it high so it can send more drivers out there and also sort of suppress demand,” Lyft CEO David Risher said on the company's most recent earnings call. “That's a bad form of price raising.
Surge-pricing could be beneficial for your company whenever you would like to tackle high-demand peaks and take advantage of them by using different pricing tactics. Increasing your prices during favorable times, weather conditions, or other high-demand periods will drive profitable growth.
The normal market response of “surge prices” or “price gouging” invokes sharp negative reactions by consumers who consider the profit seeking market response to be unethical. Public condemnation often prevents merchants from following market signals, or induces governments to intervene by implementing price ceilings.
But the strategy is not sustainable. Backlash from the Sydney siege and Sandy incidents show that Uber's pricing strategy is seen as exploitative. This can make customers feel they are being treated unfairly, something that can have long-term effects on their willingness to use the service.
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 request a ride with Uber all at the same time.
The bottom line: Uber's surge-pricing algorithm, which is based on supply of drivers versus demand of rides needed, resets about every five minutes, and changes based on zones that are often close together.
If the government limits surge pricing, then it is implicitly favoring Uber's consumers over its drivers. Whether limiting surge prices is fair involves a lot of judgment. It seems to be fair in an emergency, but may be unfair at other times, say during rush hour. Furthermore, it also depends on if you benefit.
“Fuel has gone up, insurance has gone up and licensing fees have gone up, while more and more fares have gone down.” Zamir says that because of this, Uber drivers have become a lot more selective about which fares they take on.
Basic supply and demand. The more drivers in the area, the more ability to fill the demand. If there are less drivers, which at night there are (and really early in the morning), then the demand may be higher than the supply of drivers.
Surge pricing has no effect on the commission that Uber charges drivers for each ride. However, the added price goes directly to the drivers, which makes it a great opportunity to top-up your income as a driver.
Do Uber drivers get paid more during surge pricing? Yes. During a surge, the price difference goes to the drivers, while the Uber commission stays the same.
Although this may be basic economic theory and technically not yet in illegal in the United States to institute surge pricing (though it is illegal in some countries like India), Uber can change the way so it benefits all parties involved.
Booking Fake RidesPerhaps one of the most widespread Uber scandals, the earliest days of Uber were tainted by the sabotage of other ride-sharing apps. Uber drivers, employees, and managers would schedule rides on other apps to book them and then cancel at the last minute.
Initially, it was a bit more expensive due to a surcharge, but now it costs the same as a regular UberX. The pricing change is part of Uber's commitment to encourage more people to opt for environmentally-friendly transportation. However, while it costs the same as a regular Uber, it is not actually cheaper.