Uber has been slammed for surge pricing in Manhattan after a failed terror attack on Monday morning.
Commuters were left struggling to get to work after being forced out of the Port Authority Bus Terminal after the explosion at 7.20am.
Bangladeshi national Akayed Ullah, 27, who is a cab driver from Brooklyn, set off the homemade pipe bomb device prematurely while walking through the subway transit tunnel between the terminal and Penn Station.
It sparked rush hour chaos which included road closures and subways coming to a halt, prompting commuters to find alternative ways to get to work.
Many turned to Uber but were horrified to discover prices had crept up because of the increased demand.
Uber prices surged on Monday morning for more than two hours after an attempted terrorist attack at Port Authority Bus Terminal at 7.20am. The demand was felt all over the city
Getting to the affected zone from other parts of Manhattan was also more expensive than
Uber said it disabled the surging within minutes of reading news of the explosion online and said it had begun reimbursing passengers who paid extra.
Surging occurs automatically when there is increased demand in one area.
But New Yorkers who were affected by the chaos of the blast were requesting cars all over the city after having to adjust their commutes due to train and bus closures.
In one case, a passenger paid $50 to travel 30 blocks.
Another told DailyMail.com that a journey which ordinarily costs her around $28 had skyrocketed to $75.
‘Shame on you Uber!’ were among the outraged comments from disgruntled app users as they were confronted by the increase while trying to move out of affected zones.
Subways were closed as a result of the attack and the blocks surrounding the bus terminal were in lockdown
The bomber has been named as Akayed Ullah, a 27-year-old Bangladeshi who lives in Brooklyn. He burned himself in the stomach when the device detonated early at 7.20am as he walked through the transit tunnel
Akayed Ullah, the suspected bomber, remains in hospital under police supervision
‘Hoping you’ll address the surge pricing in the Times Square area due to the pipe bomb this AM. Algorithms are not our friend,’ said one user.
‘Uber you should be ashamed for surge pricing after a bomb went off in NYC during rush hour. It took my fiance and I $50 to go 30 blocks.
‘Absolutely shameful,’ bemoaned another.
‘Surge pricing in NYC? A terror attack in midtown – what better time to take advantage of a horrible situation and people in need. This is disgusting!’ was another user’s complaint.
Others labeled the increased fares ‘opportunistic’ and ‘outrageous’.
An Uber spokesman told DailyMail.com that within minutes of hearing about the unfolding incident, they disabled surging in the area.
‘Within minutes of seeing reports of an incident, we disabled dynamic pricing in the area.
‘In addition, we are proactively refunding riders for dynamic pricing on affected trips in the area,’ they said.
Uber said it disabled the surging right away but it did nothing to settle angry customers who complained in their droves