Uber, the popular ride-sharing company, issued an apology Saturday night after people complained that its business model, which includes charging more during busy hours, was employed near and during protests at airports across the country.
Surge pricing has been turned off at #JFK Airport. This may result in longer wait times. Please be patient.
— Uber NYC (@Uber_NYC) January 29, 2017
Critics across the Twittersphere voiced their disapproval of Uber’s surge pricing during the demonstrations by using the hashtag “#deleteuber.” The protesters were publicly objecting President Donald Trump’s executive orders that temporarily bans immigration from several countries.
Goodbye @Uber. Hello @lyft. #DeleteUber pic.twitter.com/Hk04FpllUn
— Susan Sarandon (@SusanSarandon) January 30, 2017
I guarantee 99% of the people who #DeleteUber reinstall it, or didn’t really delete it in the 1st place. So dumb.https://t.co/drmrfi9VNG
— Harlan Z. Hill (@Harlan) January 30, 2017
Some felt Uber was trying to profit directly off of the unrest, specifically the void in the marketplace created when taxi drivers went on a brief strike. (RELATED: Uber Forced To Pay Advocacy Group $2.38 Million For Not Picking Up Blind People)
BREAKING: NYTWA drivers call for one hour work stoppage @ JFK airport today 6 PM to 7 PM to protest #muslimban! #nobannowall
— NY Taxi Workers (@NYTWA) January 28, 2017
People blamed Uber of undermining the taxi industry’s walkout.
Delete your Uber account now. Not just the app, the account. You have to sign in online to do it. And leave a message like this one: pic.twitter.com/Eqx2eFPsEn
— Alena Smith (@internetalena) January 29, 2017
But the ride-sharing company denies that was its original intention.
Last tweet not meant to break strike. Our CEO’s statement opposing travel ban and compensating those impacted: https://t.co/joWvPvux9J
— Uber NYC (@Uber_NYC) January 29, 2017
There is even some internal unrest at the ride-sharing company over Trump.
An Uber executive called President Donald Trump a “deplorable person” in a passionate email sent to colleagues following the 2016 presidential election, even comparing Trump’s victory to infamously tragic historic periods like Mao Zedong’s reign in China and the war in Darfur.
There were several protests outside Uber’s headquarters in San Francisco earlier in January, because some are unhappy with CEO Travis Kalanick’s role in Trump’s economic adviser group.
Racist, sexist, anti-gay, Donald Trump go away! #aptp #j20 pic.twitter.com/Xcb855phGP
— Eunice Kwon (@eunice_kwon) January 20, 2017
Kalanick later sent a letter to his employees detailing his criticism of Trump’s policy and how the company is reaching out to employees who are affected by Trump’s temporary immigration ban.
“We are working out a process to identify these drivers and compensate them pro bono during the next three months to help mitigate some of the financial stress and complications with supporting their families and putting food on the table,” Kalanick wrote to staff, a message that he also published on Facebook. “This ban will impact many innocent people—an issue that I will raise this coming Friday when I go to Washington for President Trump’s first business advisory group meeting.” (RELATED: Uber, Anheuser-Busch Use Self-Driving Truck To Deliver 45,000 Cans Of ‘America’)
Uber’s main ride-sharing rival, Lyft, wrote in an official company blog post that it plans on “donating $1,000,000 over the next four years to the ACLU to defend our constitution” and to help combat Trump’s decision.
Send tips to eric@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.