Reports are flowing in today from disgruntled Uber customers leaving Outside Lands who, under the 5-fold surge pricing we mentioned earlier, ended up with receipts for in-city trips mind you that totalled anywhere from $390 to $470.
As Valleywag notes, one passenger who needed to take a 4-mile trip from Geary out in the Avenues to the Noe Valley/Upper Market vicinity, which turned into an 11-mile journey all the way around the Sunset in order to avoid traffic, ended up paying $391. It would normally have cost about $60, and maybe that passenger shouldn't be complaining.
Someone also reported on a $290 bill to get from 30th and Balboa to Post and Gough.
Muni has always been the best way to get in and out of Outside Lands which, in its sixth year is a pretty extraordinary shitshow, given ever-increasing crowds and everyone's confusion about getting in and out of the Avenues. Also, Muni's been running special shuttles in and out of the festival for several years that pick up and let people off at Civic Center. Likely drunk, lazy people summoned Uber black cars amidst all that mess, sat in traffic, and while the bills are quite shockingly high, they could have been avoided if a) the person did the math about what 5-times surge pricing could mean, and b) walked up to Judah to get on the N train.
Found this in my FB feed tonight, RE: Uber surge prices at #OutsideLands. pic.twitter.com/Nnl2t1foLv
— Kezar Söze (@KezarSoze) August 10, 2014
Uber is cute. #outsidelands pic.twitter.com/u915KrIGBa
— christina (@christinax) August 11, 2014