How you (yes you!) can get around Uber’s surge pricing
New iOS app, SurgeProtector, shows users where to walk for lower Uber prices.
As Uber continues to expand worldwide (and has run-ins with local regulators), it’s become famous for its "surge pricing"—the phenomenon where as demand increases for cars, the price dramatically goes up.
New York State went so far as to put a cap on the practice during "abnormal disruptions" in July 2014. Recently, a North Carolina man was charged $455 for a 15-mile ride on Halloween night. Outraged, he reported it to the state’s attorney general, which has taken up the issue.
To deal with this problem, enter a new, free iOS app (an Android version is coming soon) called SurgeProtector. The app aims to help Uber users avoid being shocked by surge pricing simply by telling them where they can go to pay more normal prices. (Uber did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment.)
The app, which was released last week, taps directly into the Uber API (which first became available in August 2014). It checks to see whether surge pricing is in effect for a given location.
"We have an algorithm that calls locations around you that tries to get a regular price—it’s surprisingly granular," Thomas Schmidt, one of the app’s creators, told Ars. "In places with high population density, it will be a difference of two to three blocks over, it can go from 2x surging to nothing. It’s super useful in San Francisco."...MORE
