--- title: Uber Criticized For Hiking Prices In Sydney Siege Just As France Gives Uber The Boot For 2015 | TIME description: Uber’s attempt to hike prices during the hostage situation in Sydney, Monday brought scathing criticism to the ridesharing company. It’s also now banned in France. canonical: https://time.com/video/7q7qbnZ9/ og:title: Uber Criticized For Hiking Prices In Sydney Siege Just As France Gives Uber The Boot For 2015 og:description: Uber’s attempt to hike prices during the hostage situation in Sydney, Monday brought scathing criticism to the ridesharing company. It’s also now banned in France. og:url: https://time.com/video/7q7qbnZ9/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/7q7qbnZ9/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Uber Criticized For Hiking Prices In Sydney Siege Just As France Gives Uber The Boot For 2015 twitter:description: Uber’s attempt to hike prices during the hostage situation in Sydney, Monday brought scathing criticism to the ridesharing company. It’s also now banned in France. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/7q7qbnZ9/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Uber Criticized For Hiking Prices In Sydney Siege Just As France Gives Uber The Boot For 2015 > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Uber Criticized For Hiking Prices In Sydney Siege Just As France Gives Uber The Boot For 2015 [Watch (HLS stream): Uber Criticized For Hiking Prices In Sydney Siege Just As France Gives Uber The Boot For 2015](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7q7qbnZ9.m3u8) (1:55)  _Published 2014-12-15. Uber’s attempt to hike prices during the hostage situation in Sydney, Monday brought scathing criticism to the ridesharing company. It’s also now banned in France._ --- Jul 27, 2023 5:39 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Judge Rejects Uber's $100M Settlement with Drivers](/video/vP2n6NbD/) ### Judge Rejects Uber's $100M Settlement with Drivers [Uber’s First Self-Driving Car Is Hitting the Streets](/video/DSbsarsb/) ### Uber’s First Self-Driving Car Is Hitting the Streets [Sydney Hostage Situation: Gunman Seen Inside Cafe, Hostages Escaping](/video/CALWWBKN/) ### Sydney Hostage Situation: Gunman Seen Inside Cafe, Hostages Escaping --- ## Transcript Monday was just a mess for controversial ride sharing company Uber. There are people who would wish to do us harm. Monday, dozens of people were taking hostage at a cafe at Martin Place, Sydney's busy financial district. As that took place, Uber sent out this tweet notifying customers of a four fold price hike with the claim to encourage more drivers to come online. And pick up passengers in the area. That Tweet became the impetus of scathing backlash. The siege began about 9: 40 a. m. when from behind a glass door, a lone figure emerged, wearing a black bandana across his forehead. And a gun slung over his left shoulder. And as roads were blocked off and people were scrambling to get out of Martinplace, demand for the service increased. But according to Uber, when there's higher demand, a price high cap [ INAUDIBLE ] automatically. But Ben White, a CNBC contributor, was one person expressing concern with Uber's method writing on Twitter how can there not be a human being at Uber who can turn off the algorithm. That leads to PR disasters like this? Following the backlash, Uber officials were very vocal on social media, responding directly to people about the price hike. Within an hour of the price increase, Uber responded by offering free rides. Uber Sydney will be providing free rides out of the CBD to help Sydneysiders get home safely. Our thoughts are with those affected. We are in the process of refunding rides. And while Uber Sydney was defusing that situation, Uber was just getting word of a different problem in France. The French Government announced Uber Pop, Uber's cheapest driving service which mostly operates within Paris will be banned in the country come 2015 after complaints of unfair competition. This follows a French ruling Friday not to ban the service. A commercial court in Paris refused to hear a lawsuit against the ride sharing service. Which claims Uber drivers operate without professional licenses. To Monday's news, Uber released a statement saying it's part of the solution, not the problem. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Uber Criticized For Hiking Prices In Sydney Siege Just As France Gives Uber The Boot For 2015","description":"Uber’s attempt to hike prices during the hostage situation in Sydney, Monday brought scathing criticism to the ridesharing company. 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