# Official from Uber: You see RED on map but passenger doesn't see surge price.



## Lost In Translation (Sep 18, 2015)

Uber has confirmed in writing that they are micro managing surge down to the individual block or rider.

That means while you may see a large red surge area from a Macro viewpoint, Uber determines that supply equals demand inside a smaller micro area (down to the block or even the individual rider level) and therefore doesn't present the passenger with surge pricing. It isn't "fake" surge, it is just like pool: what you see on the driver app does not match what the passenger sees on their app. 

Keep in mind, Uber loves passengers and hates drivers. The purpose of surge isn't to make more money for Uber. They really don't care about revenue. I know that is counter intuitive and downright stupid but Travis Kalanek doesn't care about making money as a company (he's making plenty for himself though). He cares about POWER and DOMINATION and CONTROL and his legacy as the Steve Jobs of transportation. 

The purpose of surge is to reduce demand to match the number of drivers available. So the passenger who wants a ride now doesn't have to wait long for their ride to arrive. It is all about managing the customer experience.

The pax who doesn't want to pay more ends up waiting the longest, but doesn't comprehend that. Pax only start counting the minutes from the time they request. They forget about the 7 or 5 or 10 minutes they waited for surge to end so they could save 75 cents on their ride.

So, yes, it is entirely possible that you can be sitting in a large surge area and get pinged for a non surge ride a block away.

The proper response is to IGNORE all pings in a surge area that aren't paying surge prices. Don't worry about your acceptance rate. Since the lawsuits (up to 11 now) the lawyers have instructed Uber not to deactivate over acceptance rate. Because if Uber demands you accept every ping and will fire you if you don't, that makes you an EMPLOYEE and not an independent contractor.

Uber even says so in their new CSR boilerplate, reminding drivers that they are independent contractors who have the legal right to pick and choose which riders get picked up. They will remind you that not picking up will affect your acceptance rate, but they have stopped threatening to deactivate drivers with low acceptance rates. 

And until the law suits are concluded, deactivating for exercising your legal right to choose which rides you will accept is not good for their case. So if you are in a surge area, just ignore non surge pings and be patient, as the next ping will likely be a surge ride.


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## Realityshark (Sep 22, 2014)

Wait out the surge and then you can get paid the same amount you were making this time last year.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

Lost In Translation said:


> Uber has confirmed in writing that they are micro managing surge down to the individual block or rider.


Please post that email. (Blackout your personal details).


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

Sounds like he's just talking about hexagons /honeycombs?


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## Lando74 (Nov 23, 2014)

Lost In Translation said:


> Uber has confirmed in writing that they are micro managing surge down to the individual block or rider.
> 
> That means while you may see a large red surge area from a Macro viewpoint, Uber determines that supply equals demand inside a smaller micro area (down to the block or even the individual rider level) and therefore doesn't present the passenger with surge pricing. It isn't "fake" surge, it is just like pool: what you see on the driver app does not match what the passenger sees on their app.
> 
> ...


I got this email today after I complained about the threatening texts. Our city is about 20x30 miles, and I'm often the only car available. I told them I'm not driving 15-20 min for any requests and many times that's all I receive. I explained that it's not my problem they can't squire enough drivers. The email response still includes a threat of deactivation.


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

you can think because of pending lawsuits that Uber wont deactivate you for acceptance rate or rating, but don't bank on it...


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## Lando74 (Nov 23, 2014)

I'd go to the office to ask about this, but they've been closed all week. Looks like a 28.5% acceptance rating to me:


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