--- title: "Uber CEO Stunned When He Heard Cost of 3-Mile Uber Ride" description: "Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was shocked to learn how much it costs to take a three-mile ride in New York City using his company's app." date: "2023-08-03" modified: "2023-08-04" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/uber-ceo-ride-cost" categories: - "Advanced Transport" tags: - "inflation" - "rideshare" - "the digest" - "Uber" --- # Uber CEO Stunned When He Heard Cost of 3-Mile Uber Ride ![Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was shocked to learn how much it costs to take a three-mile ride in New York City using his company's app.]() *NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 24: Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO, UBER, speaks onstage during the 2019 Concordia Annual Summit - Day 2 at Grand Hyatt New York on September 24, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Summit) \Image: Riccardo Savi via Getty Images\* ## Wheel of Fortune Today in [clueless rich guys](), we have Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who was stunned to learn how much it costs to take a three-mile ride in New York City using his company's app. In a wide-ranging [interview with *Wired*](), Khosrowshahi was veritably stunned when the reporter questioning him asked if he knew how much a ride in the Big Apple costs. "I traveled 2.95 miles in an Uber to get here today," the reporter, Steven Levy, asked the CEO. "What do you think it cost?" "Twenty bucks," the CEO responded — and followed it up with an "Oh my god" and a "Wow" when the journalist told him he paid around $50 — and that when he'd first searched fares five minutes prior, it was $20 *more* than that figure. Khosrowshahi claimed the price increase was due to "surge pricing," but Levy didn't let him off the hook. "A surge makes no sense," the reporter quipped back. "It’s 10 am on a sunny weekday, and it’s not like the president’s in town." ## Blame Game As the back-and-forth continued, the journalist got Khosrowshahi to admit the reason for ever-increasing Uber prices: inflation, [that old scoundrel](). "Do you worry that those who adopted the service because of attractive pricing might be rethinking their ridership?" Levy continued. But the CEO was unfazed. "Everything is more expensive," Khosrowshahi responded. "Inflation has become a part of our everyday life. With Uber, the vast majority of your fare is going to your driver." That last part may not be exactly true. Uber is [infamously opaque]() about how much of a cut the company takes from its drivers' fares, and drivers half self-reported that the company takes up to 50 percent of ride fares. Combined with drivers' responsibility for [most of their gas]() and maintenance, that makes their piece of the pie a lot smaller. As *Wired* noted after the CEO's comments, reports indicate that Uber fares have risen [four times faster than the rate of inflation]() — but then again, the man doesn't even know how much it costs to get an Uber ride in New York. **More on ridesharing apps:** [*A Shocking Number of Gig App Workers Were Murdered on the Job Last Year*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()