The bus and SeaBus strike in Metro Vancouver is forcing commuters who need to get to work, school or appointments to find alternative modes of transportation.
The SkyTrain and West Coast Express are running but some who can’t use these services have been turning to Uber as an option.
However, Global News is hearing from commuters that Uber’s surge pricing is tripling the cost of their journeys.
“It’s so expensive,” one commuter told Global News. “Normally it’s about $10 but right now it’s about $30, just to get to Langley.”
He was travelling from Scott Road Station to Langley.
“We are international students, we can’t afford it.”
In addition, commuters said it is also difficult to secure an Uber due to the increased demand.
In a statement to Global News, Uber Canada said that “in response to the transit strike, Uber has capped surge pricing and offered additional incentives to drivers to encourage them to complete more trips during the strike.”
“For example, this morning from 7- 8 a.m., the number of active drivers increased more than 70% over the same hour last week. However, it is not reasonable to expect Uber to fill in the massive gap left by a transit strike,” the company said.
Uber said it is encouraging riders to try the Group Ride feature and to carpool a ride and fare with others.
“Surge pricing occurs when there are more ride requests than there are drivers,” the statement said. “With upfront fares, riders see the price before they request the ride so they know how much they’ll pay and a message will be displayed such as ‘Fares are higher due to increased demand’ before the rider chooses to request a trip. The surge amount is added to the driver fare.”
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