A $200 Uber from Washington Dulles International Airport to Richmond, Virginia, greater than tripled in value when an unsuspecting man and his driver acquired caught in a 50-mile backup on Interstate 95.
Andrew Peters was getting back from a visit to San Francisco, California, and determined to Uber the 127 miles to his dwelling.
“We hopped on the first exit and then it was just, we stopped moving right there. There was cars behind us. There was nowhere to go,” Peters said. “It was like being in some bizarre parking zone.”
From begin to end, Peters spent 14 hours in the Uber, most of it in the historic, icy pile-up on I-95 after a snowstorm battered the D.C. space.
“People were walking around a lot, which was crazy,” Peters stated. “I was like, I don’t want to go too far out there in case traffic starts moving again.”
Once site visitors did begin transferring Tuesday, Peters and his driver had been ready to get dwelling safely.
He added a $100 tip to the $200 fare, and later the rideshare service added a $400 surcharge, for a whopping complete of $701.47.
(For reference, his flight from San Francisco to the airport in Virginia, which took about 4.5 hours and lined greater than 2,800 miles, price $300.)
“It ticked me off because I had no way of knowing that I would be stuck in this traffic jam for that long, and I don’t feel like that’s fair because they have the directions. I have no say in which way the Uber goes,” Peters stated.
His financial institution refused to pay the price, and happily, the nightmare was not to final.
“We have refunded Mr. Peters and greatly appreciate his patience,” Uber introduced Wednesday. “We’re glad that he and the driver got home safely.”
Now, Peters says his New Year’s decision is to be extra cautious about calling a automotive in the snow.