Uber And Lyft Jacked Up Prices As People Fled The New York Subway Shooting [View all]

[dogknob]

Rideshare apps Uber and Lyft have been accused of severely increasing the prices for rides shortly following a mass shooting on the New York subway system that left at least 13 people injured and many more fleeing in terror. Screenshots from people’s phones showing fares as high as $145 to get away from the area of the shooting have been going around Twitter as people express outrage over the grimmest bit of price gouging seen since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“@Uber turn off surges in sunset park,” wrote one local woman. “People are scared, let them get out safely.”

Both Uber and Lyft use an automatic system that detects areas of high demand and implements “surge” pricing, increasing the prices of their services based on how many people in the area are requesting them. You can see how this could at times create horrifying dystopian nightmare situations, and yet both companies continue to rely on it.