This time last year, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was doing triage on Twitter. New Year’s Eve had activated Uber’s demand-driven surge pricing and riders were incensed by the high fares. As angry customers flooded social media—“uber pricing policies are outrageous!” “my friends, family & I are never using Uber again”—Kalanick attempted to stem the tide. He suggested users could test Uber’s price-estimate feature. He reminded them that the extreme surges would die down as demand fell and that, if they waited, they might be able to snag a normally priced ride.
Nothing worked. Come New Year’s Day, it got worse. The New York Daily News reported that Uber fares had climbed to nearly eight times their typical rates. Business Insider published the receipt of a woman who claimed a 25-minute ride had cost her $351. Customers were irate. On Twitter, Kalanick’s frustration became increasingly apparent, and his exchanges increasingly ugly.
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STORY:http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/12/31/uber_new_year_s_eve_get_ready_for_surge_pricing.html