Uber said it was providing free rides out of a Sydney business district affected by an ongoing hostage situation. It’s taken heat because that wasn’t the initial policy.
Amid a crisis in the city’s central business district that erupted there a day ago, Mashable reported that the ride-sharing service was charging customers as much as four times the normal rate to depart the area. Per a tweet from Uber Sydney, it was part of the company’s typical price surging around moments of particularly high demand.
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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, 2014
The backlash began to swell, and a change came about quickly once word had spread to the public.
“We are all concerned with the events happening in Sydney. Uber Sydney will be providing free rides out of the CBD to help Sydneysiders get home safely,” the company wrote in a blog post. It also said it would be refunding rides for anyone who was set back by the fare increase.
Exactly how long riders were subject to the hike is unclear, but Mashable characterized the time as “brief.”
Uber announced a policy during the summer to cap surge pricing “during disasters and relevant states of emergency,” but the approach is specific to the company’s operations in the United States.
“This policy intends to strike the careful balance between the goal of transportation availability with community expectations of affordability during disasters,” Uber’s CEO, Travis Kalanick, said at the time.
The hostage crisis in Sydney was still developing as of overnight Tuesday local time. The Sydney Morning Herald provided a rundown of what has unfolded to date (all times local):
Within five minutes, police had cordoned off Martin Place and cleared the area.
Within 15 minutes, hostages were forced to hold a flag to the windows with Islamic script.
At 10.45am, The Sydney Opera House was evacuated.
At 3.35pm, three people – one male staff member and two other men – ran from the café.
At 5pm, two female employees fled into the arms of nearby police.
