A report by the Belgium-based newspaper Derniere Heure says that Uber has allegedly been increasing the prices for people if their phone battery is low. The media outlet conducted a small study which showed how the pricing for users in Brussels was based on how much battery they had on their phones. The test was conducted after some users claim to have seen varied prices for the same trips, however, the ride-hailing giant has since refuted these claims.
What did the investigation find?
Two phones, one with 84 per cent battery and the other with 12 per cent, were used for the investigation while requesting a ride from their office in Brussels to Tour and Taxis in the centre. The report shows a notable discrepancy in prices, as the phone which was at 12 per cent was charged 17.56 euros ($19.32), as opposed to the phone with an 84 per cent battery which charged 16.6 euros ($18.26) for the same distance.
What did Uber say about these accusations?
In response, the company in a statement to the Brussels-based newspaper has since denied these claims and said, “Uber does not take into account the phone’s battery level to calculate the price of a trip. The dynamic pricing applied to trips booked via Uber is determined by the existing demand for rides and the supply of drivers who can respond to it.”
It added, “During peak hours, when there are many ride requests and few available drivers in a certain geographical area, this may impact the price of the trip.” Uber also said that the app is not able to measure the battery of a user’s phone.
This is not the first time that the ride-hailing giant has been accused of taking advantage of its users’ battery life. In a 2016 interview with the National Public Radio (NPR), a Washington-based nonprofit media organisation, Uber’s former head of economic research, Keith Chen said that their company had found that users with lower battery levels were more willing to pay for surge pricing, as per Vice.
However, Chen denied that the firm was explicitly hiking pricing for these customers.
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