Uber and Lyft to Refund Users Who Paid Price Surge Trying to Escape NYC Following Bombing

The Associated Press
The Associated Press

Uber and Lyft will refund passengers who were forced to pay higher fares while trying to escape New York City following the attempted terrorist attack on Monday.

According to Jalopnik, Uber and Lyft fares “skyrocketed” following the attempted attack, but “Uber eventually turned off surge pricing in the surrounding area of midtown Manhattan, where the explosion took place.”

“The decision was made within minutes of seeing reports on Twitter of the bombing, the spokesperson added, and Uber’s ‘proactively’ refunding trips that were surged in the area,” they reported, adding, “A spokesperson with Lyft said ‘prime time’ pricing was capped following the incident.”

In a statement, a Lyft spokesman claimed, “For passengers who did incur higher prices as a result of Prime Time in the Port Authority area, we plan to proactively reimburse them.”

In June, Uber also had to refund passengers after fares surged in London following the London Bridge terrorist attack.

“Our hearts go out to everybody affected by yet another horrific attack on our city,” wrote Uber in a statement following the attack earlier this year. “We’d like to thank all the drivers who helped tens of thousands of Londoners get home safely last night.”

“As soon as we heard about the incident we immediately suspended dynamic pricing all around the area of the attacks – and shortly afterwards across the whole of central London – just as we did following the attacks in Manchester and Westminster,” they continued. “We are also ensuring all rides from around the affected area were free of charge.”

Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington and Gab @Nash, or like his page at Facebook.

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