People In Toronto Say Uber Prices Surged During The Snowstorm & Damn, They're Not Kidding

The snowstorm that took over southern Ontario was no joke this week. The first day back to school was cancelled, the TTC had serious delays, and major highways like the 401 were packed with so much snow that people were forced to shovel parts of the highway themselves.

With all the treacherous wintry weather and the god-awful road conditions, some Torontonians looked to rideshare services like Uber to (hopefully) get them from point A to point B and were apparently met with some wicked surge prices.

One Twitter user shared a snap of what their ride was going to cost to get to Toronto Pearson Airport and the price for a standard UberX cost over three bills alone.

"The snow in Toronto today is a JOKE LMAO," the user wrote.

Based on the screenshot, an UberXL was going to make a $636.24 dent in their wallet, and RIP to that credit card statement.

Another Torontonian checked the prices out of curiosity after the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner were shut down, and buses were stuck — and the quoted fares were definitely eye-watering.

"During this winter storm event, we encourage drivers and delivery people to be careful and only go online if they feel safe to do so," a spokesperson for Uber told Narcity via email.

"Riders should listen to local officials and only travel as needed."

According to Uber, surge pricing happens whenever there are more ride requests than there are drivers out on the roads. As for this specific winter storm, surge pricing was capped in southwestern Ontario as well as Quebec, and total costs could be seen by riders before booking so they know just how much it will be.

Not only were Uber rides affected during the blizzard, but some Torontonians were apparently out of luck trying to get food delivered to their house as well.

The spokesperson for Uber told Narcity that they can look at the Uber Eats app for updates, and have the option to pick up the food themselves if delivery is unavailable.

At the time of the storm, many users took to Twitter complaining that delivery was unavailable at some points throughout the day in cities across Ontario.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.