Seventeen hostages were held for 16 hours in a cafe in the Central Business District of Sydney, Australia, in a standoff that ended Monday with three people (two hostages and the gunmen) dead. While the situation was unfolding, Uber raised fares for people who were trying to get out of the CBD.
We are all concerned with events in CBD. Fares have increased to encourage more drivers to come online & pick up passengers in the area.
— Uber Sydney (@Uber_Sydney) December 15, 2014According to Mashable, Uber's minimum fare out of the area shot up to $100. That's four times the normal $25 minimum. Of course no one wanted to be in close proximity to the cafe, and this was true for drivers, too. But Uber and taxi services had significant importance for people who wanted a quick way out of the area, and also for Muslim passengers who were afraid of being racially harassed on public transportation since the gunman, 50-year-old Man Haron Monis, was a self-styled Islamic cleric. After one train passenger tweeted about seeing a Muslim woman remove her covering, the hashtag #illridewithyou became a trending topic. It was a way for people to offer their company as a partner to ride with for anyone who was afraid for their safety.
Uber's announcement that it would raise prices sparked an outcry because it seemed as if the company was trying to take advantage of the situation, as some social media users initially thought.
The one quality software can never fully replicate is humanity. RT @mashable: Uber intros surge pricing in downtown Sydney during siege
— Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) December 15, 2014Yet, since Uber drivers aren't obligated to pick up drivers in the area, raising the fare gave them an incentive to do so, rather than straight abandoning the CBD or not driving at all. After facing backlash on social media, the company pulled back on the fare increases, saying that the surge pricing was automated, and that they would be paying the fares for anyone who had already taken a ride out of the CBD and everyone else afterward.
Uber Sydney trips from CBD will be free for riders. Higher rates are still in place to encourage drivers to get into the CBD.
— Uber Sydney (@Uber_Sydney) December 15, 2014"Surge pricing is algorithmic and responded automatically to the large increase in demand for Uber rides out of the C.B.D.," Uber told the New York Times. "As soon as we became aware of the situation, we capped it and made all rides free to people leaving Sydney’s C.B.D. Uber is paying for these rides. If riders got charged surge pricing earlier, we will refund it.”
While Uber might not have made this gesture if there weren't people on social media tweeting about it, if they continue paying for rides during emergency situations like this one, the company could further push themselves ahead of traditional taxi companies—despite their controversies.
