Edited by: TJVNews.com

Uber’s controversial surge pricing has once again come under scrutiny, even drawing an astonished reaction from the company’s own CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, the New York Post reported.  Steven Levy, the editor-at-large for Wired short Uber ride from downtown Manhattan to the West Side for an interview with Khosrowshahi left him with a jaw-dropping fare of $51.69, including the driver’s tip, for a mere 2.95-mile journey, the report said.

When confronted with the unexpectedly high fare during the interview, Khosrowshahi was visibly surprised, exclaiming, “Oh my God. Wow.” The Post also reported that Levy then revealed to him that the fare had surged by $20 just five minutes earlier.

In his sitdown with Khosrowshahi — which happened in May at Uber’s annual product event Go-Get — Levy asked the executive to guess the cost of the trip, the Post reported.

“Twenty bucks,” ventured Khosrowshahi, whose company announced it turned its first-ever operating profit when it released second-quarter earnings Tuesday.

Khosrowshahi attributed the price hike to the infamous “surge pricing” system, which increases fares during high-demand periods. However, Post reported that Levy countered that the price surge seemed unjustified for a sunny weekday morning without any notable events or major congestion.

“A surge makes no sense,” the journalist replied, as was reported by the Post. “It’s 10 a.m. on a sunny weekday, and it’s not like the president’s in town.”

In an attempt to justify the surge pricing, Khosrowshahi cited the impact of inflation and increased costs of time and labor, as was reported by the Post. Nevertheless, Forbes’ report revealed that Uber’s prices in the US had risen four times faster than the rate of inflation from 2018 to 2022. As was reported by the Post, fares had surged by a staggering 83% over the four-year period, leading to higher costs for customers.

Previously, Khosrowshahi had attributed the soaring prices to a shortage of drivers during the pandemic. However, the Post report stated that Uber’s Q2 2022 earnings report indicated that the company had reached a record-high of 5 million drivers in August 2022, marking a 31% increase from the previous year. As was reported by the Post, despite the higher prices, Uber’s stellar second-quarter performance boasted a profit of $394 million, a remarkable improvement from the $2.6 billion loss during the same period the previous year.

The positive financial results showcased a significant milestone for Uber, with operating profits reaching $326 million for the quarter, making it the first profitable quarter since the company’s inception in 2009, according to the Post report. The company anticipates achieving additional operating profits by the end of Q3 on September 30. Despite these promising figures, Uber’s stock experienced a nearly 6% decline on the day of the announcement, the Post report said.

In addition to its financial achievements, Uber disclosed that its Chief Financial Officer, Nelson Chai, would be stepping down from his position on January 5, 2024, and the company has already begun the search for his replacement, the Post reported.  Chai played a crucial role in leading Uber’s initial public offering in 2019 and overseeing the acquisition of Postmates in 2020.

With the surge pricing debate continuing, customers will eagerly watch how Uber addresses these concerns while maintaining its financial growth and performance in the competitive ridesharing market.