Sticker shock from ride-hail apps
A ride-share driver picks up a fare outside Grand Central Terminal on the first day of the LIRR strike Saturday. Credit: Jeff Bachner
A looming LIRR strike was not on Hilary Bloom’s radar as she vacationed in London this past week. But after her return flight arrived at Kennedy Airport on Saturday morning, she learned all trains had been canceled and she would need to find another way to get home to St. James.
Checking the Uber app on her phone, she was shocked to see the price: $297.
“That’s just way too much ... I'm sure they take advantage,” she said.
Rather than pay the fare, she plopped herself down on the curb and called her husband, who agreed to come pick her up. Then she shrugged.
“I just traveled for such a long time, what’s an hour and a half more?”
Other riders traveling from Ronkonkoma to LaGuardia and from Manhattan out to Long Island also said they experienced sticker shock when looking for app-based rides on Saturday.
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