Uber, Lyft Offer Refunds For Surge Pricing During CTA Shutdown
(CBS) -- Uber and Lyft are going beyond apologies and offering refunds to riders who paid as much as $110 for a ride when police shut down three CTA 'L' lines during the Tuesday morning rush.
Police shut down tracks used by the CTA Red, Brown and Purple Lines for nearly three hours, from 6:45 until 9:30 a.m. A body was found on the tracks.
The city of Chicago's Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Department accused Uber and Lyft of taking advantage of riders by allowing surge rates to kick in.
Uber said, in a statement, that it has issued its refunds, and said it began to take steps to "mitigate" the impact as soon as it learned of the CTA stoppage.
"Our communities felt stranded," an Uber spokesperson said in the statement.
Lyft is urging any riders who have not contacted them to do so and said it is "in the process of refunding passengers" the difference between "prime-time" or surge rates and the normal $13 fare.
