I would live to explain supply and demand to you. However I'll just ask mr NY this one question.
Have you ever noticed how hard it is to get a cab in the rain in NY? There is no conspiracy for surge pricing, it's pretty straightforward actually.
I would love a lesson on supply and demand. I'd also like a lesson on predictability, like predicting we'll need more cabs between 5-7 compared to 2-4. Is this something we can predict? The yellow cabs (who are awful) have kinda figured this out - Yet at 4:55 it is basically clockwork that Uber surges go into effect. Their surges in NYC are also unreasonable, usually in the 2.4-2.8x range, this is almost daily. I also enjoyed the
studies that they commissioned about how surges are great for me, the consumer.
Sure, I'd much rather pay $70 for a $24 ride than wait an extra 6 minutes.
Not sure if you're aware, but Uber isn't the most ethical company. I like this example:
http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/11/technology/uber-fake-ride-requests-lyft/
Being that charging the consumer 3x is so beneficial according to research paid for by Uber, I'm hoping other businesses catch onto this sweet model. Maybe I can spend $12 on a slice of pizza at 6pm, I mean it's the dinner rush, who can see such a thing coming?
& honestly, if their surges weren't so insane and predictable, I'd have no issue here... After all, it is a solid product that I've been using for quite some time. A surge of 1.5x would be fair under some circumstances, a surge of 3x is price gouging. Luckily, I believe the city of New York agrees with this and eventually there will be a 2x surge cap, regardless of how many lobbyists they hire.