Is Uber now ripping off their customers? | Hacker News Reader

Is Uber now ripping off their customers?

16 pointsrdlecler114 comments

On Saturday night we ordered an UberX car to pick us up from a New Jersey and to take us back to our apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. When I received the receipt I noticed a $20 toll charge for the George Washington Bridge.... The only problem is, is that this is only supposed to be a $11.00 toll. When I asked UBER about this discrepancy, they responded:

The $20 surcharge is not only to compensate for the toll, but also the vacant ride back to NJ. NJ partner drivers are not licensed to pick up riders in NYC, so they will need to travel back empty to get their next fare.

Okay, that makes sense. Except that our driver told us he was from White Plains, New York and that he was hoping to catch a fare back to Manhattan so he didn't have to pay for the return toll.

So not only do they overcharge me, they try to cover it up by suggesting that the driver was from New Jersey and that he'd have to deadhead it back.

This is disclosed in https://www.uber.com/cities/new-york: "$20 surcharge on all trips between NYC and New Jersey." It doesn't have anything to do with where the driver is from. It also appears to be included in the fare calculator there. (I can't be 100% sure because it doesn't break down the bill.)

The fee shouldn't be dependent on where the driver happens to be from, or you'd be rolling the dice on which driver you happened to get: it's fairer to have a consistent price.

Oh yes, the fine print. Because we wouldn't want to know in advance that we'd be charged $20.00 for an $11.00 toll. So it's safe to assume that Uber charged the other passenger $20 going into Jersey, and then another $20 coming back. This makes me wonder if Uber pocketed the $20 collected as the driver went into Jersey or if it set aside some to cover the driver's cost if he had some come back as a deadhead.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that toll is at most $13 . More interestingly, there is no charge when leaving Manhattan on the GWB -- it's completely free. Fishy...perhaps.

Toll charges are here: http://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/tolls.html

Just curious, how do taxi's handle the issue of tolls? I've never thought about it before.

On all trips within New York City, any bridge and tunnel tolls to the destination shall be paid by the passenger, who shall be informed before the start of the trip.
On all trips within New York City, return tolls shall not be charged except for trips over the Cross Bay Veterans, Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial, and Verrazano Narrows Bridges.

On trips beyond New York City, all necessary tolls to and from the destination shall be paid by the passenger.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/passenger/taxicab_rate.shtm...

Should it have been $11 x 2 = $22?

There's no charge going from Manhattan to New Jersey over GWB so they've arbitrarily added a $9 fee saying that the driver will be returning to New Jersey. Which raises the question, did the passenger who he took to New Jersey also get charged $20? Altogether that would be $40 in toll charges for a single $11 toll.

There's no charge for leaving Manhattan via the GWB.

hmm..do we now see the problem with de-regulating the Taxi industry?

No, because if a company has deceptive pricing we discuss it online and then move to a company that doesn't. Like I've already left Uber for unethical way they were reported to have 'competed' with lyft.

If they were creating monopolistic barriers, or it was a hard industry for a competitor to enter, absolutely. This is not the case here.

Zinger appreciated, but it's a disclosed surcharge -- the real problem would be if it were deceptive.

As any New Yorker will tell you, pre-Uber cab regulations were not exactly followed to the letter. For example, they state among other things that a driver has to take you anywhere you want to go. Ever tried hopping in a cab at 4:30 pm and asking for JFK airport?

Which is exactly why you get in the cab, then tell the cab where you want to go. Do it in the reverse order and the cab will take off without you in it.

While hiding your roller suitcase behind a lamppost.

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