Class Action Lawsuit Claims UberX Rides Often Fail to Arrive on Time, Despite Higher Cost

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that Uber has misrepresented its pricier UberX ride option, given that the purportedly faster rides often fail to arrive on time as promised and sometimes take as long, or even longer, than the rideshare company’s Wait & Save option.

Want to stay in the loop on class action lawsuits that matter to you? Sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter.

The 42-page lawsuit contends that although customers pay more for an UberX ride, advertised as faster and with a precise arrival time, defendant Uber Technologies, Inc. does not offer a refund when the supposedly faster ride fails to arrive at the advertised time. In general, Uber’s advertised arrival times, no matter the ride option, are increasingly inaccurate and “inherently unpredictable,” the suit says.

Consumers who pay extra for an UberX “pay a price premium for nothing,” the class action lawsuit summarizes, alleging Uber’s misrepresentation of UberX rides is “knowing and reckless.” According to the complaint, Uber, rather than calculate arrival times based on driver availability in an area and the time it would likely take to pick up a customer, instead appears to create arrival times—and the prices it charges for different ride options—to “extract a price premium from customers.”

“Uber continues to hold itself out as being able to provide exact, dependable, accurate arrival times to riders—something it knows it cannot do,” the complaint reads.

The case charges that Uber utilizes dark patterns to deceive consumers into thinking that UberX rides are guaranteed to be faster. The dark patterns in the Uber app include preselected options, visual prominence and pressured upselling to make consumers believe that the more expensive option inherently has less risk, the suit says.

The complaint says that when ordering an Uber, riders are shown upward of four different ride options, with UberX, promoted as having the fastest arrival time, as the default selection for the rider. Notably, riders are shown a specific arrival time, not a range or estimation that is qualified by any disclaimer, the complaint highlights.

By comparison, Uber’s Wait & Save option, generally considered the most basic or standard ride, is more affordable, but gives a range of drop-off times that are much slower than an UberX, per the suit.

Other so-called premium options, including UberXL or pet-friendly rides, might be advertised as more expensive than UberX, but they intrinsically come with their own benefits, like a larger vehicle, that can be guaranteed to riders, the filing adds.

Because Uber promotes UberX rides as the fastest option and with a specific arrival time, the rideshare company communicates that it can predict precisely when a driver will arrive and drop off a user, the lawsuit argues. However, Uber frequently fails to live up to its UberX promotions, the suit alleges.

Related Reading: Lyft Lawsuit Claims ‘Priority Pickup’ Option, Despite Cost, Does Not Guarantee Faster Arrivals

“By differentiating its displays in this way, Uber implies that precise arrival times are more accurate or dependable than ranges,” the filing asserts. “But all of Uber’s advertised arrival times—range or not—are ‘estimates’ and nothing more.”

According to the complaint, Uber could offer an arrival time range for its UberX rides, but it knows that wrongfully advertising arrival times down to a precise minute enables the company to charge higher fees. Further, the case maintains that consumers are more willing to pay extra fees for a quicker arrival, based on the “association between price and dependability,” on which Uber allegedly capitalizes.

“This practice is intentionally misleading, intended to trick customers into paying for a benefit they may not receive and which Uber cannot guarantee,” the lawsuit claims.

Moreover, the case also takes issue with provisions outlined in Uber’s Terms of Use that supposedly exist to delay for months or even years the filing or processing of any arbitration demands, beyond any applicable statute of limitations period.

The filing accuses Uber of limiting consumers’ legal right to relief, in the absence of any tolling considerations, through its “mass action protocol” that forces consumers into individualized claims that may also be delayed beyond the period to recoup any relief in private arbitration or in court.

“In short, Uber has constructed an elaborate process to indefinitely delay consumer claims until they can be extinguished completely,” the lawsuit alleges.

The Uber class action lawsuit seeks to represent all individuals in the United States who paid for a ride advertised as “faster” or with a specific arrival time, as opposed to a range of times, but were not picked up within the advertised time during the applicable statute of limitations.

The lawsuit also seeks to represent an additional class of all individuals in the United States, within the statute of limitations, who have an Uber account and are subject to its US Terms of Use.

Check out ClassAction.org’s lawsuit list for current class action lawsuits.