UBER are set to issue refunds to New Yorkers who were mistakenly charged congestion pricing fees after a tech glitch.
The ridesharing giants are now urging customers who’ve used the service since the congestion pricing began to check for incorrect charges.
Uber riders in New York have been mistakenly charged congestion pricing fees after a map glitch[/caption]
The congestion charge came into effect in the city from the start of the year[/caption]
Even users of rideshare apps are being charged a $1.50 fee – but it should only happen in certan, designated areas[/caption]
The city’s controversial congestion charge came into effect earlier this month and means drivers now have to fork out $9 to access the busiest parts of the city during peak hours.
The toll has come in an attempt to reduce traffic in the city, as well as raise money for its public transit infrastructure.
The $9 surcharge covers every local street and avenue in Manhattan at or below 60th Street, at the south end of Central Park.
Trucks face the heftiest fees during peak hours; ranging from $14.40 to $21.60, depending on their size.
Passengers using rideshare apps, such as Uber and Lyft, won’t escape the tolls either, with an extra $1.50 surcharge added per ride, while New York yellow taxis will add on a $0.75 per ride fee.
But while Lyft has revealed a new scheme that will credit users $1.50 every time they pay the new congestion fee in January for use on a future trip, Uber has seemingly suffered a glitch that charges riders that haven’t even entered the designated zone.
According to a report by FOX 5, the error was due to a mapping glitch by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, affecting rides in a specific area of East 61st Street.
Reporter Natasha Verma, who anchors the network’s 10 O’Clock News, typically uses Uber for late-night rides home – from their Upper East Side studio on 67th Street to 61st Street.
This journey should not have been impacted by the newly implemented pricing scheme, and was only noticed when Natasha checked her receipt.
She noticed she was hit with both an “NY Congestion Fee” for $2.75 and an “MTA Congestion Surcharge (Below 60th Street)” for $1.50.
She said: “I started at 67th, I went down York Avenue to 61st. There’s a gantry at 60th, I didn’t even get there, yet Uber still hit me with this charge.
“I tried to dispute it on the app and there wasn’t even an option for it.”
Natasha said that when she finally heard back from Uber, a spokesperson sent her an “insane” map provided by the MTA, which they use to create an algorithm that automatically applies the $1.50 “MTA Congestion Surcharge” to riders who enter the congestion pricing zone.
Yet the map includes a sliver of 61st Street between York Avenue and 1st Avenue, which is not in the zone.
FOX 5 later learned that this particular issue arose because a driveway of a building on East 61st Street touches both 61st and 60th Streets.
The MTA has since corrected their map and Uber said they have “updated [their] algorithm accordingly.”
An MTA spokesperson added: “The MTA is providing taxis and for-hire vehicle companies a map update to prevent trips ending in the off-street driveway at 420 East 61st Street from being charged the congestion fee.”
Since the incident, Uber says they are now conducting a full review of all receipts since the congestion pricing began, and will refund any trip that was incorrectly charged.
Lyft users have also been urged to check their receipts for rides they’ve taken in recent days, as the map is used by other rideshare companies.
