Uber often multiplies rates when demand jumps during peak times or when fewer Uber drivers are on the road. “I felt it was beyond unreasonable”. “A lot of people are saying I look stupid… but that’s not the point of it”.

“There are holes in their system and Uber needs to fix it”. He saw that Uber’s “surge pricing” was active and that his fare would be multiplied by 8.9 (usually, the trip would cost $125). When the ratio between passengers requesting rides and the number of available drivers in an area become untenable, the “ride-sharing” app jacks up prices and informs riders they’ll have to pay surge prices. “Predatory tactics”, wrote Facebook user Leo Gnavi.

However, while many claim that they were not aware of the surge pricing, Twitter has seen an equal outpouring from those who believed anyone using the service should have been well aware of the price spike on New Year’s Eve.

The newer of the two traditions continued online Friday with users of the ride share app from across the globe posting commentaries over their alleged fees they had to pay on New Year’s Eve.

An Edmonton man who was charged $1,100 for a 60-minute Uber ride from southeast Edmonton to St. Albert has been refunded half of his bill. Uber prides itself on offering drivers a larger slice of profits. But passengers have the option to take cabs, or to carpool or stay over at a friend’s house for the night. Drivers keep money made after this threshold.

An Uber customer support representative told me on Saturday that the bug was a “known issue;” since I initially reported the story, others have pointed out that Uber support has complained about the disappearing fare estimate button since at least October. The 25-mile ride usually costs $30.

“I would have realized this was getting out of hand and we should reconsider the rate”. “$70 cab ride”, said another user Carlin Leslie. The company says in the spirit of transparency, riders are notified of the increased rate and it’s up to them to accept the increased fares before they’re connected with a driver.

Uber remains technically illegal in Miami-Dade County but has remained able to operate as Mayor Carlos Gimenez tries to hammer out legislation that would legalize services like Uber and its competitor Lyft.