How the Blizzard Will Affect Uber Pricing in Boston
Well, it’s that time of the year again. We’ve got a blizzard coming. And if you’re an Uber user who needs to catch a ride, you’re probably a little bit worried about how much it’s going to cost you.
Uber famously (infamously?) uses a surge pricing system, in which it charges users more based on the supply and demand for rides. For example, during rush hour, with fewer Uber drivers available, the price of a ride may go up to twice its normal rate. Or if it’s rush hour during a rainstorm, the rate might triple or quadruple. On New Year’s, it went up by a cool multiple of six. The surge depends on the availability of rides and the number of users looking for them.
Uber is beloved by may of its users, and most of the time in Boston it is cheaper than a cab. But the surge pricing practice has been a regular point of criticism, especially when put to use during crisises—the December Sydney hostage situation was a recent example—and during bad weather.
Uber announced last summer that during states of emergency and natural disasters, it will cap surge prices at the third highest rate in a given city over the previous two months. Also, during emergencies, Uber as a company won’t stand to make any money. During those events, the cut the company usually takes out of a ride (20 percent, with the rest going to drivers) will go to the American Red Cross.
Uber prices surge quickly in Boston due to bad weather. Snowfall can compel plenty of Uber users to call for a ride, or it may compel its drivers to stay off the road, or both. In any event, that would throw supply and demand out of whack, which Uber (or at least, its algorithms) considers reason for a price surge.
With Governor Charlie Baker declaring the storm a State of Emergency Monday, the Uber policy will be in place. Prices may surge over the course of Monday, but they can only surge so far. According to company spokesperson Taylor Bennett, prices will not exceed 2.9 times normal fares.
Starting at midnight, it won’t much matter anyway. That’s when a travel ban, also declared by Baker, will go into place, barring “non-essential’’ vehicles from the road. Kaitlin Durkosh, another Uber spokesperson, said that the company would “follow the guidelines’’ of the ban.
Update: The company sent an email to users Monday afternoon saying its service will not be available from 12 a.m. until whenever the travel ban is lifted.
And in an email sent to area drivers and shared with Boston.com, Uber said: “Riders will not be able to request rides and (drivers) will not be able to log online or complete trips. Uber expects all partners to be in compliance with the Governor’s executive order and remain off the roads.’’
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com