I hate to run PR for Uber, but the battery story is just urban legend. If you dig into the headlines, they all trace back to one article written by a small Belgian newspaper [1] which is barely more than a blurb. The evidence in the article is one very casual experiment:

> Dernière Heure conducted a test using two smartphones, one with 84% battery and the other with 12%, to request a ride from their office in Brussels to Tour & Taxis in the centre.

> The result showed a significant price difference, with the phone at 12% battery being charged €17.56 and the phone at 84% battery being charged €16.6 for the same service.

Uber also denies it in the article. Obviously you don't have to believe them but IMO it's more likely that the "significant price difference" (less than one euro) is explained by some other variable that the author wasn't able to identify.

[1] https://www.brusselstimes.com/449143/uber-fares-allegedly-li...