Uber : Uber has been accused of charging people different fares depending on the battery of the phone. It is alleged that Uber inflates the cab fare when the battery is low. According to a study by the Belgian newspaper Dernier Heure, Uber charged 6 percent more for a ride booked on a smartphone with 12 percent battery than for a ride booked from a phone with 84 percent battery. Similarly, some experiments were done for iOS and Android and it was found that there is a difference in fares while booking. This claim is really shocking.
How was the study done?
The study was done in Brussels. Cab booking was done from two different devices to go from the same place in the test. For travel, a phone with 84 percent battery charge showed Rs 1496, while another phone with 12 percent battery charge showed Rs 1581. However, Uber has denied this allegation. The company said it does not set fares based on the battery level of a user’s phone.
In a statement to Dernière Heure, Uber said ride prices are based on current demand for rides And the drivers The company claimed that it does not take into account the battery level of the phone to calculate the cost of the ride.
The company has faced allegations in the past
This is not the first time Uber has been accused of abusing the battery life of users’ phones; in 2016, Keith Chen, the company’s former head of economic research, said in an interview with NPR that Uber found that users were willing to pay more when the battery level was low. However, he denied that the company is using the battery level to increase the price.
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