# Does Uber want us to get surge pricing?



## 404NofFound (Jun 13, 2018)

Does Uber want us to gain from the surge or is the surge designed to move ants around and then collapse?


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## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

Outside of large events where prices should either be raised or a surcharge I would rather have higher rates and no surge personally

I don't think the new regime likes the surge concept


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## 404NofFound (Jun 13, 2018)

Kodyhead said:


> Outside of large events where prices should either be raised or a surcharge I would rather have higher rates and no surge personally
> 
> I don't think the new regime likes the surge concept


Why do you think the new regime doesn't like it?


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## Trump Economics (Jul 29, 2015)

404NofFound said:


> Does Uber want us to gain from the surge or is the surge designed to move ants around and then collapse?


The latter


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## mrpjfresh (Aug 16, 2016)

Originally, surge was a necessary evil for Uber. It was essentially their main tool to guarantee coverage during times of heavy demand by enticing more drivers to switch on their apps. It's other major purpose was to serve as a way to quickly bust any attempts at driver organization/boycotts.

With their new surge rolling out nationwide this fall, drivers cannot even see the surge without logging on (to my knowledge), so it's primary purpose is now dead. They're gambling that they have enough ants on the road at all times to be able to rework surge and skim more money from surge payments away from drivers and into their coffers. I think this is a losing bet. Sure, ants will be ants; they will drive all day long for base pay.
However, we have already seen limited instances of major driver shortages during extremely large events and inclement weather in the pilot markets testing this new surge. 

What's worse for Uber's image? A customer paying a 4.x surge or not being able to get a ride when they really need one? (Paying a higher rate to attract more professionals and doing away with surge is out of the question ofc.)


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## pvtandrewmalone (Oct 2, 2016)

mrpjfresh said:


> Originally, surge was a necessary evil for Uber. It was essentially their main tool to guarantee coverage during times of heavy demand by enticing more drivers to switch on their apps. It's other major purpose was to serve as a way to quickly bust any attempts at driver organization/boycotts.
> 
> With their new surge rolling out nationwide this fall, drivers cannot even see the surge without logging on (to my knowledge), so it's primary purpose is now dead. They're gambling that they have enough ants on the road at all times to be able to rework surge and skim more money from surge payments away from drivers and into their coffers. I think this is a losing bet. Sure, ants will be ants; they will drive all day long for base pay.
> However, we have already seen limited instances of major driver shortages during extremely large events and inclement weather in the pilot markets testing this new surge.
> ...


Well said. Couldn't have said it better myself.


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## RideshareSpectrum (May 12, 2017)

Well, either there are enough ants to quash surge/PT at most events in most cities, who are also willing to drive for base fare peanuts otherwise or uberlyft is throttling payouts to drivers while collecting biggest fares they can get up front. 
My guess is a bit of both, the latter whenever it’s feasible.


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## dryverjohn (Jun 3, 2018)

Uber needs and uses the surge as a carrot. Unless they can not get an influx of ants online driving towards the surge, there is no reason to keep it on more than 3 minutes. That is the average time we see a surge in Charlotte. When bars close it lasts longer, but has remained at about $3.50. No longer worth battling traffic for a couple of drunks. You can sort through the pings and pic through the pics though on lyft.


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## hulksmash (Apr 26, 2016)

It is almost impossible now to get a surge ride that doesn’t involve working holidays, odd hours, dealing with chaos and traffic, or some combination thereof. For me most surge rides are during bar hours, dropping off and picking up pax to/from events, or dropping off/picking up from the airport. 

It can also involve picking up in remote hilly areas with spotty cell coverage. Bottom line surge rides come with some sort of inconvenience. Back in the early days there were a lot more surge rides that were relatively hassle free. Now you are dreaming if you think you will get long surge rides at convenient times that are easy to get to and don’t involve heavy traffic.


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

Surge isn't going anywhere. It's still surging for Uber and Lyft. It's just not surging for the driver anymore. 

Or are some of you guys just not getting that yet ?


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## Arb Watson (Apr 6, 2017)

mrpjfresh said:


> Originally, surge was a necessary evil for Uber. It was essentially their main tool to guarantee coverage during times of heavy demand by enticing more drivers to switch on their apps. It's other major purpose was to serve as a way to quickly bust any attempts at driver organization/boycotts.
> 
> With their new surge rolling out nationwide this fall, drivers cannot even see the surge without logging on (to my knowledge), so it's primary purpose is now dead. They're gambling that they have enough ants on the road at all times to be able to rework surge and skim more money from surge payments away from drivers and into their coffers. I think this is a losing bet. Sure, ants will be ants; they will drive all day long for base pay.
> However, we have already seen limited instances of major driver shortages during extremely large events and inclement weather in the pilot markets testing this new surge.
> ...


I need to release these guys in Boston.


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## bpm45 (May 22, 2017)

Uber LOVES surge pricing! They absolutely HATE paying surge to drivers. Their focus is only on maximizing margin any way they can. Customer satisfaction is secondary.

We should figure out ways to optimize our take and minimize their take.


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## Uberisfuninlv (Mar 22, 2017)

Of course they do. They know all the ants will flock to a surge like bees to a beehive even if it’s the minimum surge. 

Rohit says small surge is a good way for uber to hide that they are charging passengers 2.5x but giving us just 1.2 it’s the Uber way! He even gets a small cut of it now. They have to pay for those English classes somehow...


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