Snowfall effect: Uber withdrew $ 640 from a client for a trip to the airport

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A resident of Stirling, Va., Received a check for $ 640 from Uber's transportation service on Monday for a trip to Reagan Airport in Washington, which is located approximately 50 km from her home.

Bonnie Lieb said that she expected a considerable bill, because of the snow storm, which over the weekend raging in the USA, Uber has increased the standard cost of its travels in 4,4 times. However, she expected an amount of at least two times less.

Neighbors told Lieb that a typical trip to the airport costs $50 to $70, and she figured she would have to pay about $250 in “extra-weather” fares because she had to fly to Denver for a business meeting.

Bonnie Leeb, who is the director of marketing and communications agency Sage, was on the way in just 48 minutes.

“I almost died,” Lieb recalls of the moment she received a message on her phone about a $640 charge on her credit card. “This can’t happen,” I thought. This is apparently some kind of mistake."

Bonnie Lieb was on her way from home to the airport just 48 minutes. Photo: Bonnie Lieb

However, Uber said that there was no mistake on their part, since Lieb did not use the standard Uber X service, but the most expensive option offered - Uber SUV. Her base fare to the airport would be $144.

Uber spokeswoman Caitlin Durkosh admitted the $640 bill was one of the largest she had ever heard of. However, she defended Uber's policy of raising fares based on a range of circumstances, such as bad weather conditions, to motivate drivers to come to work.

“We always try to be reliable for our clients. If our pricing were not dynamic, there is a good chance that not a single car could be found for a ride,” Durkosh explains.

Uber, according to Caitlin Durkosh, always encourages its customers to check billing in their mobile app before confirming an order.

Bonnie Leeb says she didn’t notice that the standard price for a Uber SUV service was $ 144. At the same time, the company partly went to meet the client by giving Lib a loan of $ 160 (25% of the price for her trip) for the next trips using Uber.

Lieb said she has always been a “huge fan” of Uber and would use the company again, at least to use the credit she was given. However, she no longer intends to ride Uber during the period of tariff increases.

ForumDaily wrote earlier about how Uber raises its tariffs in cases when there are too many orders in a particular zone.

Despite the fact that Uber cost growing rapidly, the company's reputation keeps falling due to various scandals.