Uber is refunding fares near Saturday’s London Bridge terror attack after a furious outcry over a price surge sparked by demand for rides to get away from the chaos.
Uber’s prices fluctuate with demand. As hordes of people sought to flee the terror scene, where seven people were mortally injured, fares automatically increased as Uber was inundated with ride requests.
The San Francisco-based company said it stopped using its “dynamic pricing” once managers realized what had happened. But fares appeared to remain inflated for as long as two hours after the attack. Until the prices were adjusted, fares more than doubled in many cases.
After an ugly storm of complaints on social media, the company decided to offer full refunds.
Uber’s London general manager Tom Elvidge issued a statement Sunday “ensuring all rides from around the affected area were free of charge.” The statement thanked Uber drivers for helping “tens of thousands of Londoners get home safely.” Uber will provide investigators with video footage collected by Uber cars near the attack, Elvidge said.
Our hearts go out to everybody affected by yet another horrific attack on our city. We’d like to thank all the drivers who helped tens of thousands of Londoners get home safely last night. As soon as we heard about the incident we immediately suspended dynamic pricing all around the area of the attacks – and shortly afterwards across the whole of central London – just as we did following the attacks in Manchester and Westminster. We are also ensuring all rides from around the affected area were free of charge. Our team is also working with the Metropolitan Police to help them get any footage from drivers who were in the area at the time.
Uber tweeted Sunday that it’s matching fares collected to and from the One Love Manchester concert in the wake of the terror attack there to donate to the British Red Cross.
The mood on Twitter changed dramatically after Uber announced the refunds.
Riders were furious after the attack, when prices were shockingly high.
Uber has had a recent stretch of bad publicity. The company just posted a $708 million loss for the first quarter of the year.
Uber announced Monday it has hired Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei as its first senior vice president of leadership and strategy. Fortune reports that Frei, who has been working as a consultant to Uber for several months, is expected to provide leadership guidance to CEO Travis Kalanick, who has come under fire for sexual harassment.
Kalanick was also captured on video recently berating a male driver. He later apologized and said he needed “leadership help.” Results of an internal investigation into harassment and discrimination at the company are expected to be released later this month.