Uber has taken yet another L.
Just one day after news broke that the ride share company admitted to owing its drivers tens of millions in backpay for taking its fee before deducting taxes and other surcharges, the company is being slapped with another class action lawsuit: this time by the customer.
Via the New York Post:
Passengers are incurring hidden charges with Uber’s “upfront” pricing model — resulting in a $7.4 million windfall per month to the app-ride company from New York City trips alone, according to a new class action lawsuit.
Uber launched its upfront fares last summer, promising a “no math and no surprises” system that would calculate the actual cost of a trip before customers booked a ride.
But Uber is charging riders approximately $2 more than the actual cost of the trip, according to the Brooklyn lawsuit filed by Coney Island resident Jacqueline Gayed.
For example, while the rider pays $14 for a trip, the driver’s Uber platform shows a fare of just $12.
“Uber simply pockets the difference,” the suit says.
According to court papers, the company pulls off the scam by showing riders a less efficient route than the one drivers take. An investigation by the website The Rideshare Guy found that Uber is charging half of riders taking the daily 250,000 trips in New York City an extra $2, amounting to $7.4 million a month in NYC alone.
Does this mean we have to start using Lyft? Maybe I’m naive, but I picture every Lyft driver to be Fred Armisen from Portlandia.
[h/t New York Post]