A woman in suburban Washington D.C. says she "nearly passed out" when she got her bill for taking Uber 30 miles to Reagan National Airport on Monday.
The $640.94 cents was not a mistake, the Washington Post reports.
Turns out Bonnie Lieb was traveling when Uber instituted "surge pricing" which means fares are 4.4 times the norm.
Lieb had agreed to this because she had to get to the airport to catch a flight to Denver where she was meeting a client. Neighbors had told her a normal ride to Reagan National was about $50. So Lieb was willing to pay up to $250, she told the newspaper.
But she had also opted for Uber SUV service with a base rate of $144.76. With the surge pricing in effect, that shot the bill up to $640.94.
"That was the most expensive ride I've ever taken in my life," LIeb said.
The moral of the story is know what you are clicking and agreeing to when hailing a ride with Uber or any other ride sharing company.
The Post reported that Lieb ended up getting a $160 credit from Uber, where a company official said Uber understands "surge pricing may come as a surprise the first time."
