Uber derided for surge price after Big Apple blast

Ride-hailing company Uber took some heat for hiked fare prices following the bombing that rocked New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood on Saturday night and injured 29 people.

Uber Technologies Inc., in a tweet at 9:46 p.m., said its so-called “surge pricing” had been turned off in the Chelsea explosion area and advised riders to allow for extra time for Uber drivers to navigate the streets due to road closures. That tweet came an hour and 16 minutes after the explosion.

“Soon after we saw reports of the explosion, we turned off surge in the affected area,” Uber said in a statement. An Uber spokeswoman would not say when surge pricing in Chelsea started that day or what factors — an increase in demand caused by bomb-related subway shutdowns or just typical high demand on a busy Saturday night in the Big Apple — prompted the surge pricing to take effect.

An automated computer algorithm prompts Uber surge pricing when demand peaks in given areas compared to the supply of drivers on the road. Prices are increased by a certain multiplier, and Uber maintains the higher rates to help spur more drivers to make themselves available. A confirmation screen on the Uber mobile app notifies passengers of the surge pricing amount compared to the normal fare.

In July 2014, following an agreement with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Uber said it would cap prices in New York and other markets during emergencies, natural disasters or other unusual disruptions, limiting them to the range of prices charged in the preceding 60 days and excluding the three highest prices.