Several people say they had to pay more for their Uber ride because their phone had run out of battery. But is it really true? We disentangle the true from the false.
Does the price of the Uber ride vary depending on battery level ? The case had already caused a stir in 2016. An article by Forbes claimed that the VTC service application changed the prices of its races according to several criteria, including that of the battery of the user’s smartphone.
An experience related by a listener of Fun Radio recently. In Paris, on the same day, at the same place and at the same time, he ordered an Uber with two phones : the first with an almost empty battery, the second with a full battery. Result: he paid 20,47 € its run reserved on the phone to the battery almost drained, and €18.88 on the phone at full battery. That’s almost 8% price difference.
According to this listener, the reason for this difference is clear: “They do pricing management, they know that when your laptop is empty, you are more tempted to accept a price increase”. The company would therefore play on customer fear to see his phone go off, which would push him to more easily accept the proposed offer, even more expensive.
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“A fantasy” according to Uber
Is it possible to know if this listener said true ? In 2016, the director of economic studies at Uber Keith Chen, said in the podcast The Hidden Brain that Uber was able to know the battery level of a smartphone.
Faced with these charges, Uber defends itself. “The battery is not an element that is taken into account”, said a spokesperson for the company to our colleagues from The Dispatch. So if Uber knows how much battery time you have left, the company wouldn’t use that information. “The only factor is availability from a nearby driver. Two people ordering at the same time and with the same battery level, whether full or empty, may be offered similar or different rates depending on whether there are two drivers available near them at the time. -there.”
Uber would just fix “the most balanced/beneficial price possible for both passengers and independent drivers”. Clearly, the price would vary according to demand, and just that. But it must be remembered that the platform algorithm is secretso it is impossible to verify these claims.
This subject has appeared in all the places where Uber has established itself, throughout Europe but also in North America. “It’s an old sea serpent”, pleads Uber with the Dispatch. But “It is a fantasy“.
Same defense of the 2016 company when Forbes published its article. “When your phone is down to 5% battery and the little icon on the iPhone turns red, you know, people start thinking, ‘I better go home, ’cause I don’t know how. I’ll do otherwise. We’re absolutely not using this to make you pay a higher price, but it’s an interesting psychological fact of human behavior.” tried to explain Uber’s director of economic research, Keith Chen, to NPRan American site.