Last April 18, 2016, Uber Delhi announced that they will suspend surge pricing in Delhi.
Given the threat to the livelihood of our partners, at the expense of reliability, we are temporarily suspending surge with immediate effect
— Uber Delhi (@Uber_Delhi) April 18, 2016
This is because the Indian government want to protect local riders from overcharging due to Uber’s surge pricing. New Delhi’s local government wants to impose a cap or a set tariff to prevent transport services like Uber from taking advantage. According to Uber, surge pricing is designed to encourage more drivers to get onto the roads when there’s not enough cars available to service the demands of riders.
As you know, Uber surge fees may increase up to five times the normal fare. But this resulted from local riders to complain which led to the move to regulate prices to ensure people weren’t getting overcharged. This is similar to the concerns of some groups in Metro Manila, like 1-UTAK, about the unreasonable fare brought about by surge pricing in Uber and Grab platform. They appealed to LTFRB to regulate and reduce the fares of app-based transport services with the welfare of riding public in mind.
Do you think the LTFRB should impose the same rule to Uber and Grab in Manila? Let us know your thoughts on the comments below.
References:
Uber forced to suspend surge in New Delhi
Photo from WSJ
I hope that LTFRB also pressures Uber to either remove their surge pricing or cap the surge to a figure that’s reasonable, especially during rush hours or the so-called peak times. The estimated fares shown prior to booking during these times are sometimes outrageous plus add to this the horrific traffic and you have an over-the-top fare when you arrive at your destination.
Because of surge pricing I do not use uber.
I hate jeepneys, but i would rather a jeepney + trisikel than surge pricing.