Uber users share their price-surge horror stories from New Year’s Eve

MATT Lindsay’s hour-long Uber ride on New Year’s Eve puts Sydney woman’s $720 fare in the shade. Should they have seen it coming?

Matt’s staggering $1500 Uber fare

IT’S almost become as common as talking about how your night was or how bad your hangover is — how stung were you by Uber’s price surging.

That’s the conversation that has been had around the world over the past few days as nights like New Year’s Eve were always going to be pricey — just ask Sydney woman Skye Shanahan who was stung $720 for a ride from Sydney’s Neutral Bay to Blacktown that would normally cost $100. Or Perth man Kris Keen, who has lodged a formal complaint after his 20km Uber trip that would usually have cost $37 ended up leaving him $332 out of pocket.

But the experience of Canadian Matt Lindsay puts them both in the shade.

BGR reports Lindsey hailed an Uber for an hour-long ride with multiple stops on New Year’s Eve, and ended up getting slammed with a bill for $US1,114.71 (AU$1500)

“I was very shocked at the price,” he told CBC News.

He said he would have cancelled the trip had he been given a proper estimate of the fare.

“At this point I had no context, no idea, what the end cost was going to be.

“I would have realised this was getting out of hand and we should reconsider the rate.”

He noted that Uber is generally very affordable in Edmonton, where he lives.

#yeg man charged $1,000+ by #uber for ride home after #newyears, says he didn't get fare estimate. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/vQddygGvQT

— Julia Wong (@JWongGlobalNews) January 3, 2016

Uber is popular because it is a simple alternative to taxis at what are usually competitive prices. But at busy times, Uber’s prices can skyrocket due to its surge pricing policy, which drives up prices in busy areas where Uber cars are in high demand.

So it goes without saying that New Year’s Eve was going to be a pricey night to use Uber, but the company’s customers weren’t prepared for just how much prices would be inflated.

Now, horror stories are sweeping the internet as some users report having to pay as much as 10 times normal rates without what they perceived as fair warning.

In the United States, Uber claimed 60 per cent of New Year’s Eve rides were not affected by surge pricing, which doesn’t inflated fares sting any less for people who had to pay them. But reports there suggest surge pricing climbed to as high as between 8.9 and 9.9 times the company’s typical rates in some cities. And since the Uber app’s fare estimator wasn’t working properly for many users on the night of December 31, some people were hit with sky-high fares that they didn’t see coming.

As the festive season approached, an Uber representative in Australia told news.com.au it was one of the busiest times of the year.

“We’d encourage riders to get a fare estimate, which is always available in the app or on our website, before requesting a ride.”

Australian Uber users weren’t immune and have been vocal about their experiences, but so have others around the world as some of these examples show.

Mr Lindsay wasn’t alone by any means.

Last night I paid $83 for a 5 minute uber ride... What is the world coming to

— Riley Tegtmeyer (@RileyTeg) January 1, 2016

9.9x Uber surge here in Miami Beach right now... highest I've ever seen pic.twitter.com/oX0ZxftfI7

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 1, 2016

Stats paid $205 for an uber ride last night pic.twitter.com/VkL1KGgp31

— Cam Bussiere (@Cam_Bussiere) January 1, 2016

So @Uber charge me $97 to go 2 miles last night. This type of price gouging has to be illegal. #BoycottUber @DLew716

— Tony Jr (@JimmyQuetron) January 1, 2016

Originally published as Uber users share their price-surge horror stories from New Year’s Eve