A New Jersey influencer found herself in disbelief after being charged $321 (around Rs 27,200) for a short Uber journey of just five km - nearly four times the price she was initially quoted.
Sophie Greene, 28, booked an Uber XL late at night to take her and her friends home to Weehawken, New Jersey, following a birthday celebration in Midtown Manhattan. Uber initially quoted her $89 (around Rs 7,560) for the 5.5-km trip, which usually takes around 20 minutes. But when she checked the app after the journey - which had crawled at a snail's pace through traffic for nearly two hours - she was stunned to see the exorbitant charge.
"My jaw dropped," Ms Greene told The New York Post. She also detailed her ordeal in a TikTok video that went viral. Ms Greene said that the lengthy trip was caused by severe traffic congestion in Midtown, likely exacerbated by partial closures on the way and the chaos of SantaCon revellers. She added that she and her friends had not requested any additional stops or detours.
"We didn't have control over the situation. It's not like we were telling him to make stops and doing all these things," she added.
While Ms Greene said she opts for rideshares over public transport at night for safety reasons, the trip took far longer than the usual 20-minute ride due to the gridlock.
During the ride, Uber sent her several messages asking if she was safe after noticing the vehicle was stationary for extended periods. But Ms Greene was not alerted to the significant increase in the fare.
"They did text me multiple times, saying, 'It looks like you've been stopped for a while. Are you safe? But there was no letting me know about the price change," she said.
Ms Greene attempted to dispute the charge immediately but found no resolution until she posted about the incident on Instagram the following morning. Within half an hour, Uber refunded her the difference, bringing the cost back to the original $89 quote.
"They're probably thinking a lot of people won't notice or ... because of this time of year, everyone expects it to be more expensive," Ms Greene speculated.
Josh Gold, a spokesperson for Uber, confirmed that Ms Greene was among several riders whose fares had increased significantly due to extended delays caused on the way. "We understand riders' frustration and have issued partial refunds," Mr Gold said.
