Ride-sharing programs show signs of price surging during holidays and dates where use of their services can be assumed to be high, this New Year’s Eve can be seen as proof.
On Thursday, Dec. 21, Uber released a New Years Guide that warned of surge pricing and reminded riders to mindfully check their fare estimate option in their application before making the purchase.
Uber’s business works off of supply and demand. This social-marketing-ride-sharing company defines this method by saying, “When demand outstrips supply, dynamic pricing algorithms increase prices to help the market reach equilibrium.”
If Uber did not do this and everyone got charged the standard rate for the busiest time we would reach, which is known and explained by Uber as “economic shortage.”
According to International Business Times, on a holiday like New Year’s Eve, where one million people were in New York City to watch the ball drop, is where Uber surge rate will go up because of the amount of people that need rides to get places.
On social media, Twitter specifically, there was an ample amount of conversation discussing the higher surge charges on that evening. Dallas Tyrrell, Cheyenne, Wyoming native, explained, via a phone interview, about his outrageous Uber rate on New Year’s Eve.
“On New Year’s Eve, I downloaded the Uber application and it didn’t say much about costs–it just told me that Uber was experiencing a higher than the normal rate and Showed a really low rate of like $12 and whenever,” Tyrrell said.
His Uber ride wound up costing him $131.87 for a 14-mile ride.
Uber, the first transportation network company of its kind, is not alone in the world of ride-sharing and is not untouched by heavy comparisons to its competitors.
Lyft, established in 2012 and favored by Tyrrell because he believes they have cheaper rates, is also used by Victoria Marchiani, sophomore education major.
Marchiani said that whenever she vacations in Florida, Lyft is always her “go to” due to its convenience and competitive prices.
This past holiday season act on their unhappiness accordingly, New Year’s Eve 2017 will foster a new ride-sharing app at the top of the heap.
