How to beat Uber surge pricing

I’m going to put it out there and say that I love Uber (I know it’s controversial!). Before it came along, I’d never consider getting a taxi, because I just couldn’t afford them. There have been plenty of times I’ve walked home from a club in the rain because I wasn’t going to pay £30 to travel 20 mins in a taxi.

So when Uber came along, it meant I could see how much my journey would be and could decide whether I wanted to push the boat out and get a car home.

But – then “surge pricing” comes into play during busy periods and you can end up paying up to 10x the regular Uber fee because the demand is so high.

So here are my tips to avoid the dreaded Uber surge pricing.

Time your Uber right

Want an Uber 12:30am New Year’s Day home from a boozy (and expensive) night out? Well guess what, you’re going to be paying extra. Try and plan your travels at times when surge pricing is not in effect. For example, avoid booking one after the pubs close for example – it could mean just holding off for an extra 15 minutes.

Try a different type of Uber

There are different types of Uber services that have different surges (Uber, UberXL, LUX etc) and checking the different prices if the usual one is currently on surge can save you some cash as each level of service surges independently.

For example, if you normally take an UberX and there’s a 3x surge, you could actually save money by taking an LUX with no surge and you’d get also get a fancy car.

Use Uberpool

Uberpool is when you share with strangers who are going in a similar direction to you – which makes the journey cheaper. I think Uberpool after a few drinks can be hilarious, but not sure what I’d think sober!

Sign up for notifications

Uber has a function that allows you to get a notification when surges goes down, so If you’re not in a rush, sign up for notifications and pay less.

Unless it’s an incredibly busy period, surges really don’t last that long, so you may find you only need to wait five minutes or so.

Use a discount code

If you’re new to Uber, grab yourself a voucher code to get yourself a free ride. Use the code charlotte419 to get a £15 voucher. If you also convince your friends to sign up, you’ll also get credit, so hopefully you’ll be able to save up some cash to cover the more expensive journeys.

Try a different rideshare service

It’s not all about Uber you know… (well, it kind of is)., but using different rideshare services can also help you save some money, inside of using Uber during surge periods. Especially if you can find new sign up vouchers!

There’s Hailo, Get Taxi, Black Cabs and Kabbee, which cap their prime time pricing, so can sometimes be cheaper than Uber if it is particularly expensive.

Update: 23/07/2019 – Hailo has now become Free Now.

Liked this? What about these freebies?