# Uber Clients Complaining About NYE Surge



## painfreepc (Jul 17, 2014)

I drove taxi for 11 years, many clients waited upto two hours for a taxi on NYE,

I now drive Uber/Lyft, your wait is normally less then 10 minutes,

The normal fare is aroung $1 per mile,
Myself and many other drivers or working on NYE because of the surge, without the surge I would keep my ass at home and eat sweet potato /w cream cheese pie (that i made) and drink pink moscato or go out and party like many of you,

Without the surge you would be waiting upto 1 hour or more for a Uber or Lyft,

Any one else working a normal job on NYE is making 1 1/2 to 3 times their normal pay,

Remember one very important fact, we uber driver's are not employees, no one can force us to work any set hours or days,

You should think us for being out there to pick your drunk ass up on NYE and taking you home, and the way to think us is by opening your wellet and reaching in nice and deep,

So why the hell are rider's complaining about uber drivers making more money on NYE,

Don't like the surge pricing,
Call a taxi and wait upto 2 hours or walk,
If you use uber and have a problem with the surge pricing,

you can suck the exhaust pipe of my "2015 Ford Fusion SE Hybird's" now go uber on...


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## UberLou (May 5, 2015)

painfreepc said:


> I drove taxi for 11 years, many clients waited upto two hours for a taxi on NYE,
> 
> I now drive Uber/Lyft, your wait is normally less then 10 minutes,
> 
> ...


Pink Moscato?? Please forfeit your dude card immediately!


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## Slon (Dec 25, 2015)

A lot of the complaints are about the surge formula rather than that there was a surge.

Sure a surge is expected - but even as a driver I have to question the validity of a surge going to x7+

I suspect a x3 is sufficient to get most drivers out there and pretty much everyone who can get in as a driver on x5 will take the opportunity.

I really can't imagine a scenario where a driver sees a x3 and goes - "Meh, not high enough."

So in short I think any surge over x3 is really just Uber trying to cash in.


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## Bnerdy (Jul 11, 2015)

Slon said:


> A lot of the complaints are about the surge formula rather than that there was a surge.
> 
> Sure a surge is expected - but even as a driver I have to question the validity of a surge going to x7+
> 
> ...


I actually did that exact thing and did not make a move till the surge hit 5. I'm leaving my family to take someone home on a holiday. That comes at a price especially with the risks we take i.e. Drunk drivers, possible vomit in our car, drink people in general are a mess at times. We are talking one day a year, I think we deserve to make up some of what we lose on everyday fares. Lots of options for people to take of surge is too high.


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## HiFareLoRate (Sep 14, 2015)

NYE is one 4 holidays where Uber drivers can make actual money.

Those Pax that nag are experiencing what drivers feel 360 days of the year!


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## Seastriper (Jul 1, 2015)

You put your life on the line 2 fold on NYE! I risk my life for your safety ===> I am getting a PREMIUM! 

No PREMIUM ---> No DRIVING!


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## painfreepc (Jul 17, 2014)

Cap the surge on NYE, I am not working..


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## Agent99 (Nov 4, 2015)

The value proposition for paying seven or ten times the normal rate is that there is very high probability and reliability that the Uber you ordered will arrive RIGHT NOW. It is a luxury to have someone give up their New Year's eve with their family and have them show up exactly when you want in under five minutes to help you avoid a DUI on New Year's Eve when hundreds or thousands of other people also want somebody to drive up in an Uber at the same moment and help them avoid a DUI. 

If you instead would wait two hours for a cab to show up, what is the difference with waiting two hours for when surge pricing might go away? 

Imagine going to a hotel during high season and finding out that all the standard rooms have sold out long in advance. You could have made a reservation or secured other accommodations months in advance, but you didn't. Now, the only room available is the $1,000 suite. You can argue you don't need a suite, you only need a standard room, and $1,000 is ridiculous. That is the price you pay for needing accommodations right now and not in advance. Had they lowered the price substantially before you arrived, that room would have been long gone and not available for you as an option. So, you can call other hotels and find out either that they are sold out, or, similarly, they only have their most ridiculously expensive rooms still available. The concept here is the same as paying a large multiplier of normal rates for an Uber.


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## EcoboostMKS (Nov 6, 2015)

I guarantee if people called taxi companies this year on new years that they weren't waiting any 2 hours. I've got a buddy that dispatches for a taxi company with about 60 cars and he said they were busy for about 30 minutes and that's it. And even then, he said it wasn't crazy. Nothing like the years before uber was around. 

People these days would rather pay 10x for an uber ride that have to resort back to riding in a taxi.


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## Demon (Dec 6, 2014)

painfreepc said:


> I drove taxi for 11 years, many clients waited upto two hours for a taxi on NYE,
> 
> I now drive Uber/Lyft, your wait is normally less then 10 minutes,
> 
> ...


They're upset because it's price gouging.

Surge is supposed to kick in when the demand exceeds the supply, so there shouldn't be an Uber to pick you up in under 10 minutes, or if there is the surge should be relatively low.

I also understand that driving is dangerous, but accidents and drunk drivers are out every night of the year, not just NYE.

I also take issue with your "anyone working a normal job is making 1.5 - 3 times" their normal salary on NYE, that's simply not true.

Further by Uber logic you make more money when the price is low because you get more rides, according to Uber won't drivers lose money during a surge?


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## Agent99 (Nov 4, 2015)

As I explained earlier, getting an UberX on New Years Eve/Day suddenly and temporarily became a luxury service with a commensurate luxury price. At what point did the luxury price (surge multiplier) amount to price gouging?


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## Coachman (Sep 22, 2015)

Someone will always complain. I think most NYE riders were grateful to get a car to take them home, for whatever price.

Fiddling with the surge won't help anything. Who's going to get out and drive drunks around on New Year's Eve for a $10 fare?


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## Coachman (Sep 22, 2015)

Demon said:


> They're upset because it's price gouging.


Price gouging is normally a term used to define a practice that most view as unethical... taking advantage of a consumer, like charging $20 for a bottle of water to someone dying of thirst. If I want to go to the Superbowl, I understand that I have to pay up to ten times the price of a regular ticket. That's supply and demand.

If you came across a woman stranded on the side of the road at 3:00am and offered to drive her to safety for $100, that would be gouging.

If you charge $100 to a party-goer on New Year's Eve, that's not gouging. The party-goer, like the Super Bowl attendee, knew full well that rates would be sky-high and made the decision to ride anyway.


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## Bob Reynolds (Dec 20, 2014)

Let's face it. The riders have gotten used to cheap rides that drivers are subsidizing. Riders don't like it when they have to pay more.


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## rtaatl (Jul 3, 2014)

I have no sympathy for these people complaining. They don't say anything when they'return benefiting from stupid cheap rates every other day...nor tip for that matter. Let the surge be as high as it demands. A 3x surge isn't anything close to what it used to be. If they don't like paying it then call a cab...or better yet just move your slider over to Black or SUV. It rarely surges and the price is fair and probably cheaper than what X is at the moment. Some people will never get it...


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## Agent99 (Nov 4, 2015)

Slon said:


> A lot of the complaints are about the surge formula rather than that there was a surge.
> 
> Sure a surge is expected - but even as a driver I have to question the validity of a surge going to x7+
> 
> ...


There is no doubt that some drivers were bribed out of going to sleep or spending time with their family due to the rates going higher then 3X. For Uber it was all about rates going high enough to get every last possible driver to go on the road to meet the overwhelming temporary demand. Even part-time and sporadic drivers who hardly ever drive during 3X rush hour surges were encouraged to join in the effort.

In our local market, Seattle, surge went as high as 8.9x. Had it been capped at 3X, there would have been insufficient drivers available due to a massive overload of passengers able to pay a lower multiplier. The higher multiplier served as a method of creating equilibrium. It capped the demand so that there were sufficient drivers available. Thousands more people were willing to pay 3X compared to 8X. What is more ethical, paying 8X because you choose to and are financially able to, or having the rate be 3X but being forced to wait hours because no driver is available? 3X then is just a meaningless concept. Even at as high as 8.9X there was no shortage of passengers willing and able to pay that rate to get home between 12:10am and 2:30am. Capped at 3X would have been a complete disaster for passengers who would have then complained about the shortage of drivers instead of the price of drivers.


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## UberProphet? (Dec 24, 2014)

Agent99 said:


> At what point did the luxury price (surge multiplier) amount to price gouging?


Right about here..... St. petersburg florida, NYE 1:30 am. xl estimate/quote to go 15 blocks $80 (central and 3rd st to 557 12th ave n)


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## painfreepc (Jul 17, 2014)

UberProphet? said:


> Right about here..... St. petersburg florida, NYE 1:30 am. xl estimate/quote to go 15 blocks $80 (central and 3rd st to 557 12th ave n)


$80 well spend, Next!!


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## Agent99 (Nov 4, 2015)

UberProphet? said:


> Right about here..... St. petersburg florida, NYE 1:30 am. xl estimate/quote to go 15 blocks $80 (central and 3rd st to 557 12th ave n)


I am curious what multiplier that is but it really doesn't matter. $80 is reasonable for the luxury of having a driver arrive in five minutes despite the most extremely heavy passenger demand possible on New Years Eve, to help a passenger avoid a DUI. Like any luxury goods or services there is a limit to those who can afford it but nobody is forcing you to buy that service. You buy that luxury service because you can afford it or you don't buy it because you can't afford it. You can always do what many people do when there is surge pricing, wait until it goes down or goes away. Or select one of many other options to go home, The same options that were available to you before there ever was Uber.


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## PTUber (Sep 16, 2015)

Coachman said:


> Someone will always complain. I think most NYE riders were grateful to get a car to take them home, for whatever price.
> 
> Fiddling with the surge won't help anything. Who's going to get out and drive drunks around on New Year's Eve for a $10 fare?


Agreed all but a couple (young, stupid, underage drunks) were very appreciative of the ride home they got from me and they were well aware of the surge price.


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## Pale Driver (Feb 24, 2015)

painfreepc said:


> I drove taxi for 11 years, many clients waited upto two hours for a taxi on NYE,
> 
> I now drive Uber/Lyft, your wait is normally less then 10 minutes,
> 
> ...


You look at the complaints on social media sites and most pax are just looking for a refund (free rides).You should also go to twitter @ uber support and read the complaints.


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## Learningtheropes (Oct 29, 2015)

I guarantee, the pax still paid far less than a DUI would cost them. Lyft lost a driver that night to a drunk driver, everyone who drove that night put their life at greater risk to earn some extra money. I won't feel bad for any elevated fares no matter how high they went.


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