Man shocked by Uber fares as high as $93 while helping wife to book ride during peak hours

Stomper Ricky was shocked when he saw that Uber fares were as high as $93, while trying to book a ride from Yishun to Dawson Road near Queenstown on Thursday (April 19) morning.

Ricky told Stomp that he was trying to book a ride to send his wife to work at around 8.50am.

Based on the Uber website, fares are affected by factors such as the current demand for rides in the area at the time of booking.

As such, a higher demand at the time could equate to higher fares, as was the example in Ricky’s case.

Said Ricky: "After that, we booked a Grab ride instead, and it cost us around $16.

"I understand there was a surge but the prices were crazy. Even taking UberPool would have cost us almost $80."

Asked on his opinion on the surge, Ricky replied: "I think perhaps many of the drivers have gone over to Grab since the merger, and there aren’t enough cars to meet demands."

According to the Uber website, a fare estimate for an UberX ride from Yishun to Dawnson Road today morning (April 20) costs between $17 and $23.

The Uber app was originally scheduled to be deactivated on April 8, but later postponed to April 15, and then again to May 7.

This comes after the Grab's announcement on March 26 that it was acquiring the South-east Asia business of its rival, Uber.