(NewsNation) — Two people requesting the same Uber or Lyft ride at the same time are often shown significantly different prices, according to a new Consumer Reports investigation.
The consumer advocacy group had volunteers check prices on select Uber and Lyft routes across the country and found the median gap between the highest and lowest quoted fares in the test was about 50%.
In one example, a woman in Florida was quoted about $95 for an Uber ride, while another rider checking the same trip at the same time saw a price of around $65.
In Kansas City, 55 potential customers were shown 29 different prices for the same ride.
The report argued that those differences can’t be explained away purely by dynamic pricing, in which fares fluctuate based on real-time supply and demand.
“People expect prices to change when demand spikes,” Consumer Reports CEO Phil Radford said in a statement. “What they don’t expect is for two customers taking the same ride at the same time to be charged very different amounts.”
The report suggests Uber and Lyft go beyond traditional surge pricing, using “AI-driven pricing tactics” and complex algorithms to rapidly set fares.
Consumer Reports also questioned some discounts shown to riders and found that both rideshare apps “regularly entice customers to book rides by offering supposed discounts off what appeared to be inflated original prices.”
In its test, CR found that nearly 11% of all advertised discounts “appeared to be fake.”
The findings raise questions about how companies determine prices in the age of AI and whether consumers’ personal data is shaping the prices they see.
Radford said the report shows the need for greater transparency around how companies set prices.
“The solution is straightforward: companies should be required to clearly explain how prices are set and ensure that advertised discounts are genuine, so people can comparison shop and know they’re being treated fairly,” he said.
Both Uber and Lyft said they do not personalize base fares for individual consumers or engage in so-called behavioral or surveillance pricing, according to the report.
The companies said price differences reflect real-time marketplace conditions and pushed back on Consumer Reports’ methodology.
Uber argued that it was “impossible” to ensure that trip requests happened at the exact same time because its ride prices change “nearly every second.”
Lyft said that fares might have been influenced by having so many volunteers check prices at the same time, potentially inflating demand.
An Uber spokesperson also pushed back on the characterization of fake discounts in the report, saying that crossed-out prices and “fares lower than usual” labels are meant to provide historical comparisons and are not meant to suggest fares have been discounted.