A new Consumer Reports investigation found that Uber and Lyft riders often see different prices for the same ride, even when they request it at the same time, along the same route to the same destination. The investigation recruited 174 volunteers who priced more than 40 routes on Uber and Lyft across 18 states, including Texas.

Price Discrepancies

Across the rides tested by Consumer Reports, the median gap between the lowest and highest quoted fare for the same trip was a whopping 50%. In Kansas City, Missouri, 55 volunteers who checked one particular route generated 29 different prices. In Austin, Texas, the fares for another route ranged from $25 to $65, a 160% difference.

Ride-hailing companies have long used dynamic pricing, also known as “surge pricing,” which calculates prices based on shifting market conditions such as rider demand, car availability, and traffic conditions. However, the differences that Consumer Reports found among seemingly identical ride requests raise new questions about whether Uber and Lyft are using personalized pricing or “surveillance pricing.”

Both Uber and Lyft have denied using surveillance pricing in the past. Reached for this story, an Uber spokesperson told NBC News the company “does not personalize prices, period,” and that differences were “due to changing real-time marketplace conditions.”

For riders who want to make sure they’re getting the lowest fare possible, experts recommend comparing prices across multiple ride-hailing apps before booking a ride. A recent National Bureau of Economic Research study found that only 1 in 6 riders checks both Lyft and Uber, and prices differ by an average of 14%.

Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.