Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi estimated a 2.95-mile ride would cost $20 but was surprised to learn it actually cost $51, Wired reported.

Uber CEO balks after a reporter tells him the cost of his 2.9-mile Uber ride: ‘Oh my God. Wow.’::undefined

  • ArtVandelay@lemmy.worldEnglish
    171·
    11 months ago

    These prices are set via algorithm, and time of day seems to be a huge part of it. My 2.5 mile trip in Washington DC on a Thursday morning at 7:30 was $55.

    • Hackerman_uwu@lemmy.worldEnglish
      41·
      11 months ago

      There was speculation that the algo takes several features into account not just time. Things like battery life, distance from frequent locations, etc. So for instance: profile is a young lady, she is on 10% battery and is several miles from home at an entertainment hub like a nightclub/concert so jack the fare up cos she’ll take it regardless, type stuff.

      I used to have a very unreliable Jeep that would break down for weeks at a time. I bit the bullet and ubered to work. I have screenshots showing the fare climbing over the course of a week to six times the original price for the same trip as the algo learned that I needed to work and did not have a car.

      • Tangent5280@lemmy.worldEnglish
        61·
        11 months ago

        Jesus Christ that’s horrible. We’ll need to now make something like virtualbox for Android to isolate these shitty ass apps from knowing system details and shit.

        EDIT: We all need to go check our uber transactions to see if cost per ride corresponded to life events.

        • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          1·
          11 months ago

          If they are not in a city in the US, probably not. The nearest cab company is 2 towns/cities away from me.