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Uber Playing Dirty Tricks On Insignificant Rival
By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published Jan 24, 2014
Modified Jan 24, 2014
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By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published Jan 24, 2014
Modified Jan 24, 2014
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Have you heard of Uber? Sorry, more precisely, are you 20-35 and use the Internet? Perfect, then you are familiar with Uber, the app/service that has made a pretty massive impact in New York City's taxi infrastructure. Now have you heard of Gett, a similar service? Probably not, because no one uses it. Except Uber employees, who use it just to fuck with Gett.
According to documents leaked to Valleywag, Uber employees have been placing fake hails to Gett, having a driver come to a desired location, and then canceling their rides. They do this to keep their competitor mired in a cycle of illegitimate calls, creating driver unrest and a general loss of income. Why would they do such a thing? Because Gett poses a serious threat to Uber in that they don't rip consumers off.
Uber uses surge pricing, which, as Gothamist reported last month, can net a driver more than a thousand dollars on a single fare. Gett, meanwhile, only uses a $10 increase during moments of high demand—like snowstorms or New Years Eve. What's worse is that the behavior by Uber comes straight from the top. Valleywag points out that Uber's New York General Manager placed several fake calls over the past two weeks, while other high level employees have done the same.
But then again, this is cold-blooded, unregulated competition. Did you expect good behavior?
Tagged
competition
drake
gett
taxis
uber
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Max Rivlin-Nadler has been a contributor to Gothamist since 2013. He has also reported for the New York Times, NPR, and The Intercept. His years-long investigation into New York City's arcane civil forfeiture laws led to a series of reforms which altered a practice that had been taking millions from poor communities for decades. Recently, he brought back a surfing habit from a few years on the west coast, and would love to see you all out in the Rockaways.
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