Uber may be charging users more if their phone’s battery is critically low, a new investigation has claimed. In its latest report, the Belgian newspaper Dernière Heure accused the ride-hailing app-based service of determining a customer’s phone battery to decide the cab fares.
The study by the newspaper takes a look at how Uber changes cab fares for users in the capital city of Brussels based on their phone battery levels. It mentions an investigation (via The Brussels Times) where two similar ride requests were placed on two different phones. For the same destination, the Uber app on a phone with a 12 percent battery showed a 6 percent more price than its counterpart on a phone with an 84 percent battery.
Uber has rejected the claims, saying the app cannot determine the battery level of a user’s phone. “Uber does not take into account the phone’s battery level to calculate the price of a trip,” the newspaper quoted Uber as saying. The San Francisco-headquartered company added that dynamic pricing is applied based on the current demand for rides and the availability of drivers who can accept the ride request. Also Read - Uber: How to book your ride 90 days in advance
But this is not the first time Uber is facing such accusations. Back in 2016, Uber’s former head of economic research, Keith Chan, told NPR in an interview that the company knew that users with low battery levels were more willing to pay surged prices for their rides. Although he denied that Uber was using this data to intentionally hike the cab fares, people were doubtful about why the company was keeping a check of users’ phone battery levels at all.
Meanwhile, Uber, as well as other ride-hailing apps, will be required to pay a Goods and Services Tax, otherwise known as GST, to the government for bookings made for an auto-rickshaw or any other non-air-conditioned carriage. The first order made by the Delhi High Court, which was challenged by Uber India Systems through a petition, was upheld on Thursday.