Anger at Uber as fares soar during Sydney cafe siege

When a gunman allegedly connected to Islamist terrorists took patrons at a Sydney cafe hostage on Monday, those in the vicinity understandably wanted to get out of the area as quickly as possible.
 
They paused in their exodus only long enough to take to social media, enraged at ride-sharing service Uber's attempt to charge people fleeing the area fares that were four times higher than they were prior to the start of the siege, CNNMoney reports.
 
Uber responded to the backlash by blaming algorithms that are programmed to increase rates when demand jumps and offered free rides and refunds to users. The price-jump debacle is the latest in a string of PR disasters for the company, the report states, including issues ranging from licensing issues to allegations of rape and abuse of customers by its drivers.

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