‘Not fair’: Uber fare prices double as trains cancelled amid rail dispute and wild weather in NSW

Desperate commuters have been forced to pay as much as double to catch an Uber as train chaos continues in Sydney while NSW is lashed by extreme storms.

Dozens of trains have been cancelled and delayed on Thursday amid industrial action from the Electrical Trades Union and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union after hundreds of services were cancelled on Wednesday.

As well as transport disruptions, NSW has been lashed by extreme storms that left a man dead and at least 95,000 homes and businesses without power.

Uber trips between Petersham and Surry Hills doubled from $18 on January 6 to $38 on Thursday.

People have flocked to Facebook to share price increases, with one revealing he’d paid $55 for a trip that would normally cost him $30.

Another said they paid $43 for a trip between Summer Hill and Marrickville on Wednesday, while another revealed she’d paid $35 for a trip that “should’ve cost (her) $14”.

The increased fees come despite a cap on surge pricing put in place by Uber on both Wednesday and Thursday.

It’s understood the above fares would have cost even more without the price cap in place, but an Uber spokesman declined to disclose how much the cap was.

“We know many Sydney residents rely on Uber for safe, reliable rides every day – particularly in the event of a significant disruption to the city’s transport network,” the spokesman said.

“We are in contact with Transport for NSW regarding the planned action and will work to ensure there are enough drivers on the platform to help get people where they’re going in a reliable manner.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns announced the government had launched fresh legal action with the Fair Work Commission (FWC) against rail unions on Thursday morning.

He said it was “not fair” commuters were being hit with increased fees amid the rail strikes while speaking at a press conference on Thursday morning, but that he hoped the industrial action would come to an end following the government’s application with the FWC.

“But the best way of ending this and stopping surge pricing from Uber, or 40 per cent of transport down, patronage down, or people not being able to get to or from work, is to have a decision from the Fair Work Commission, which is what we’re hopeful to achieve,” Mr Minns said.

Uber previously introduced the cap for public transport activity and major outages under the NSW Transport Management Centre incident response process, with an Uber spokesman confirming the cap was in place on Wednesday and Thursday.

The surge pricing cap was put in place after people reported forking out hundreds of dollars for trips in March 2023 after Sydney’s rail network suffered an outage.

It’s understood higher fares incentivise drivers during periods of high demand.

A Transport for NSW spokeswoman confirmed the cap was put in place on Wednesday and had been extended to Thursday.

“Under an agreement between Transport for NSW and Uber, Uber limits surge pricing during major disruptions causing network-wide issues resulting in major impacts to passengers on the public transport network,” the spokeswoman said.

“Under that scenario, Uber has agreed to limit surge pricing until alternative public transport options are in place and passenger demand is met.”

Uber general manager Dom Taylor earlier said Uber had become an “integral part of the NSW transport network”.

“Especially when there are significant disruptions in the transport network, Uber is an important safety net that helps get people where they need to be,” Mr Taylor said in a statement on the Uber website.

NSW Minister for Transport Jo Haylen earlier said the agreement would mean “when a serious incident happens on our transport network, surge pricing will be limited”.