Many Uber riders had more to worry about on New Year's morning than a hangover -- namely a bill for a late-night ride that might have totaled as much as hundreds of dollars.
Complaining about Uber's exorbitant surge pricing has become something of a New Year's tradition, alongside champagne and fireworks. The holiday is always one of the ride-hailing service's busiest nights of the year, and rates regularly skyrocket as high as six-to-eight-times normal prices in major cities.
9.9x Uber surge here in Miami Beach right now... highest I've ever seen pic.twitter.com/oX0ZxftfI7— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 1, 2016
And despite plenty of advance warning from Uber to its drivers, the next day habitually brings a flood of social media posts from angry riders accusing the company of "price gouging" and breaking the bank for people who are just trying to get home safe after a night of drinking.
This year was no different. People angrily posted screenshots of bills for short trips that cost many times over what they normally would have paid.
Never, ever, taking @Uber again—the 8.8x price gouging last night was utterly ridiculous. @Uber_Support pic.twitter.com/IvuGk8NA9n— Alton Wang (@altonwang) January 1, 2016
Stats paid $205 for an uber ride last night pic.twitter.com/VkL1KGgp31— Cam Bussiere (@Cam_Bussiere) January 1, 2016
Last night I paid $83 for a 5 minute uber ride... What is the world coming to— Riley Tegtmeyer (@RileyTeg) January 1, 2016
So @Uber charge me $97 to go 2 miles last night. This type of price gouging has to be illegal. #BoycottUber @DLew716— Tony Jr (@JimmyQuetron) January 1, 2016
Those hiked prices really shouldn't have come as a shock. The company released a blog post with tips on avoiding exorbitant fares weeks beforehand, sent out a warning push notification through its app that night and, as it always does, made its riders sign off on the surge pricing within the app before accepting the ride.
The post-midnight rush for a ride is real. Start 2016 off by getting into the right car: https://t.co/jxxL3HTnLw pic.twitter.com/zQuse3tm0e— Uber (@Uber) December 29, 2015
"Surge Pricing shouldn’t be a surprise," the company said in the blog post. "Let’s toast to you running a Fare Estimate in the app before you ride."
The fact that much of this caution seemed to fall on deaf ears set off another wave of backlash from those with no sympathy for aggravated riders.
We should invent a new word for being furious at Uber surge pricing while still considering free all-night public transport as beneath you.— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw) January 2, 2016
I hate all the complaining about drunken Uber surge pricing bills. What happened to personal responsibility? Everyone wants to pass blame.— Marshall Haas (@marshal) January 2, 2016
Shoutout to everyone who saw the 6x uber surge pricing last night and still forgot regular taxis exist— Internet Shaquille (@LOLHEYGUYS) January 1, 2016
Surge pricing, one of Uber's most hated features, is meant to encourage more drivers to get on the road at times of particularly high demand. An investigation from ProPublica this year, however, found the spike in prices does not necessarily guarantee an increase in drivers.
The company still claims that the vast majority of its New Year's Eve rides were not affected by unreasonably high surge pricing. In a set of stats released Friday, it said 84% of all U.S. trips between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m. were priced at less than triple normal fares and that 60% of rides during that period were not subject to surge pricing at all.