DOWNTOWN — Uber has been wrongfully overcharging clients with Downtown congestion charges for the reason that begin of the 12 months.
New guidelines went into have an effect on Jan. 6 that allowed rideshare corporations to cost a $1.50 congestion surcharge for all rides to and from Downtown 6 a.m.-10 p.m. every day, with the income benefitting town. However clients since then have observed they’ve been charged the price exterior these hours.
After Block Membership Chicago reached out to Uber in regards to the discrepancy, the corporate is now promising refunds.
Marty Regan was one of many clients overcharged. When he checked his Uber receipt after a current late-night trip residence within the West Loop, he caught the $1.50 congestion surcharge tagged on his fare despite the fact that it was after hours.
“You may’t take a look at all of the taxes and costs while you e book a trip,” Regan mentioned. “It’s a cash seize at worst.”
Regan went forwards and backwards with Uber’s customer support chat function in what he known as an ethical pursuit to get again his buck. The corporate initially declined to take motion on the problem, however after a pair hours price of effort, he was refunded the cost with out clarification.
Others have been improperly charged the congestion price by Uber, Block Membership discovered. A overview of Uber receipts confirmed the corporate has been routinely including the $1.50 cost on Downtown rides exterior of the surcharge’s time window.
In response to a Block Membership inquiry, an Uber spokesperson confirmed the corporate had “mistakenly charged” the congestion price on rides after 10 p.m. since early January, when town expanded the Downtown congestion surcharge to weekends and lowered its price by 25 cents.
Uber is now “actively figuring out all affected clients and can challenge refunds accordingly,” spokesperson Josh Gold mentioned. The surcharge charges, together with the overcharges, have been collected by Uber and paid to town in accordance with rideshare laws, Gold mentioned.
The complete scope of what number of clients have been wrongfully hit with the surcharges or how a lot was overcharged just isn’t identified. Uber and metropolis officers didn’t instantly reply associated questions.
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A spokesperson with town’s Enterprise Affairs and Shopper Safety Division additionally didn’t reply questions concerning if it was conscious Uber was overcharging clients, or why.
The Downtown surcharge tax — supposed to battle congestion throughout high-traffic hours in an in depth space roughly between North Avenue and Roosevelt Street outlined as town’s “Downtown Zone” — was handed in 2020 and expanded this 12 months to six a.m.-10 p.m. every day.
The town’s Division of Finance “assess, collects and audits taxes” from the rideshare firm, in keeping with the enterprise division. The surcharge growth is anticipated to lift an additional $8 million for town in 2025, in keeping with metropolis price range paperwork.
“If any passenger feels they’re overcharged, they need to report back to 3-1-1 system,” the enterprise division spokesperson mentioned in a press release.
A overview of Lyft receipts reveals the rideshare competitor appeared to cap hours of the congestion prices in accordance with metropolis guidelines. Neither Lyft nor Uber affords a breakdown of surcharges earlier than a trip, which solely seem on receipts.
Lori Simmons, a rideshare driver main a statewide unionizing push and a lobbying effort at Metropolis Corridor to cross new pay and security protections for drivers, mentioned she was “not shocked in any respect” Uber is overcharging riders by way of metropolis charges.
“However don’t ascribe malice but to what could possibly be described as incompetence,” Simmons mentioned. “It’s all the time complicated. We all know these corporations will not be being upfront with us and passengers. … Between their algorithms, the surge pricing, the promotions, metropolis charges, we [rideshare drivers] don’t know the way a lot we’re making.”
Simmons known as the congestion surcharge one other “regressive” tax for town to lift income.
“If individuals assume it’s going to cut back congestion, it’s not. It’s going to generate cash from the congestion, which is okay,” mentioned Simmons, including town may as a substitute put a “commonsense cap” on rideshare drivers prefer it does for taxicab licenses.
The congestion surcharge is only one of a litany of charges town requires of Uber, which passes that expense on to its clients.
Different charges embody a $1.13 “floor transportation” surcharge on all single-use rides, a 10-cent “accessibility surcharge” that helps town’s car accessibility fund, a 2-cent “administrative price” and a $5 “particular venues” surcharge for journeys to, from or between O’Hare Airport, Halfway Airport, Navy Pier and McCormick Place.
Gabi Cawley, a deckhand on tour boats at Navy Pier, mentioned she’ll name Ubers residence from work after shifts that finish late. She had “no concept” in regards to the $5 surcharge and, like others, “by no means bothered to look.”
“Navy Pier rolls in cash for Chicago, and also you want individuals to work there, and now they’re charging us extra as a result of we have to go residence,” Cawley mentioned. “It’s sort of irritating. We’re not rolling in cash.”
The common rideshare fare in Chicago rose by 54 % February 2019-February 2024, in keeping with a research of 1 billion journeys by PowerSwitchAction, a nonprofit advocating for rideshare drivers.
Uber ended final 12 months with its “strongest quarter ever,” claiming round $9.8 billion in web earnings in 2024, in keeping with a press launch from the corporate’s earnings name in February.
The town raised round $200 million final 12 months from “floor transportation” taxes, in keeping with metropolis price range paperwork.
Quinn Myers contributed reporting.
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