Flywheel battles Uber surge pricing with $10 rides on New Year’s Eve

By Mike Flacy December 29, 2014

taxi-seattle — Image used with permission by copyright holder

In an attempt to battle Uber’s propensity to increase rates significantly when demand for a ride skyrockets, upstart competitor Flywheel is offering a promotional option over the New Year’s holiday for anyone living in San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego or Sacramento. For a seven hour period between 8 p.m. Wednesday night (New Year’s Eve) and 3 a.m. Thursday morning (New Year’s Day), anyone that takes a Flywheel ride will only pay a flat $10 free. Of course, this assumes the ride normally costs less than $50. After the first $50, any additional cost will be incurred by the passenger on top of the flat $10 cost.

If you aren’t familiar with Flywheel, it’s a mobile application that’s acts as a simple, easy to use platform for booking a regular taxi cab. Users can track the progress of the approaching cab within the application and have the ability to pay for the ride as well as tip the driver through the application.

All drivers have undergone a criminal background check and the taxis are commercially insured. To insure drivers will be picking up passengers for the flat rate rides over the New Year holiday period, Flywheel plans on tipping drivers 100% on every ride. Passengers can also provide tips.

During late 2013, Uber published a blog post detailing that surge pricing would occur during the holiday period. In the blog post, Uber states that the largest spike in ride cost will spike just after midnight and carry on through 2:30 a.m.

Last year, a Twitter account called @UberSurge documented some of the insane surge pricing issues during the holiday season. For instance, a 46 mile, one-hour ride in a Ford Focus cost one person $546 due to a 7x multiplier in the surge pricing algorithm. Another example included a 6.5 mile, 16 minute trip in Burbank, CA that cost someone $234 due to a 4.5X multiplier in the surge pricing algorithm.

Editors' Recommendations

Uber drivers reportedly triggering higher fares through Surge Club

Topics

Cars

Contributing Editor

By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…

Mobile

One of the biggest Oura Ring competitors just did something huge

The Ultrahuman Ring Air and the Oura Ring, resting on a table.

Ultrahuman, the maker of the Ultrahuman Ring Air, is making its way to U.S. production grounds. The company is setting up a production facility in Indiana, which will mark the first time a smart ring from Ultrahuman will be assembled from scratch on U.S. soil.

“The UltraFactory will offer an end-to-end production capability and is based on the company’s first operational model of such a facility in India,” the company says.

Mobile

Best Verizon new customer deals: Galaxy S24, iPhone and more

If you’re in the market for one of the best phones, or any new phone for that matter, you’re going to need a good carrier. Verizon has long been one of the most popular options, as it boasts one of the most reliable networks in the United States. It offers some of the best cell phone plans out there, and for new customers Verizon also offers some pretty impressive discounts on new phones. In many cases this means you can brand new, recently released phones entirely for free when signing up with Verizon. And that’s the case right now, as we’re currently seeing some of the best Verizon new customer deals we’ve seen. You can pretty easily land a new iPhone, Samsung Galaxy phone, and Google Pixel for free, and we’ve got all of the details on how to do so. If that sounds enticing, read onward and start shopping the best Verizon new customer deals available right now.
Free iPhone SE (3rd Gen)

The 2022 release of the Apple iPhone SE is yours for free when you sign up for a new 5G data plan on Verizon -- no trade-ins required. It's the best small smartphone in our list of the best smartphones with a 4.7-inch Liquid Retina display, but it doesn't sacrifice performance as it's powered by Apple's A15 Bionic chip that's also found in the iPhone 13 line and pre-installed with iOS 15. The latest iPhone SE is equipped with a single 12MP rear sensor and 7MP selfie camera, which are boosted by Apple's software to enable better photographs.

Mobile

AirTags range: here’s how far the tracker can reach

An AirTag attached on a keyring

Apple AirTags are a helpful tool for tracking valuable possessions like wallets, keys, luggage, and backpacks. These tags employ various technologies that allow you to track your items from short and long distances using your compatible Apple device, such as an iPhone 15 Plus. You might wonder how far you can track your items with AirTags. It's time to find out.
AirTags range, explained

The range of AirTags varies depending on the method you use to locate them. A Bluetooth connection will work when your AirTags are close to your supported Apple device. Otherwise, Apple's Find My network is utilized. Luckily, you don't have to choose the method because it's selected behind the scenes automatically.