The Effects of Uber's Surge Pricing: A Case Study [pdf]

Re:The Effects of Uber's Surge Pricing: A Case Study [pdf] by dnautics on Thursday September 17, 2015 @09:47PM (#10237128)

I do think that the claim that surge pricing works to increase drivers in the area - while apparently borne through the data, might not have as solid a mechanistic grounding as the writers presume. I would encourage the authors of this paper to actually go out and drive and test the presumption of agency in the matter through experience. Drivers (in their social networks) always say "don't chase surge". It's usually good advice.

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Re:The Effects of Uber's Surge Pricing: A Case Study [pdf] by gavazzy on Thursday September 17, 2015 @10:32PM (#10237233)

I think this will create a damped feedback loop. Over time, the delay caused by "don't chase surge" will mean that the prices remain higher longer. Drivers will realize that the surge doesn't instantly vanish. As a result, surges will mostly get the drivers who were about to end a shift, or were going to begin a shift in an hour or so, or are in the most need of $$$.

This behavior means that surge pricing will result in a smaller increase in drivers, but a one that more closely resembles demand, which is exactly the kind of efficient allocation we'd hope for.

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Re:The Effects of Uber's Surge Pricing: A Case Study [pdf] by awch on Friday September 18, 2015 @01:07AM (#10237562)

After reading some of the surge-related threads on UberPeople.net, it sounds like drivers say "don't chase the surge" because surge pricing immediately results in drivers saturating the surge area, causing the surge pricing to disappear.

I would be interested to learn more about the profit-maximizing strategies Uber drivers employ, such as whether or not to "chase surge." Any idea where to look?

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Re:The Effects of Uber's Surge Pricing: A Case Study [pdf] by dnautics on Friday September 18, 2015 @08:42PM (#10242843)

The best thing is to just learn your clientele. I was regularly driving 30-ride days on Lyft where 75% of my rides were at elevated pricing. I do have a PhD in chemistry and a degree in math though, so I had somewhat of a career in analytical thinking and pattern recognition prior to becoming a driver.

If you have questions, feel free to drop a line (contact in profile), I drove in two cities for about a year (I do contract coding now)

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Re:The Effects of Uber's Surge Pricing: A Case Study [pdf] by ufmace on Saturday September 19, 2015 @12:52PM (#10244789)

Don't know how it actually goes, but if "Don't chase surge" is a saying in some communities, it's probably because chasing surge is such an accepted thing in the driver base as a whole.

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