Uber helps riders avoid surge pricing with Surge Drop feature

Want to hop in an Uber without paying surge pricing? It’ll be easier to find thanks to a new feature added to the company’s iPhone app. The company announced today that it is launching “Surge Drop” notifications that will notify users when surge pricing drops around them. The new feature arrives a week after Uber CEO Travis Kalanick announced it at the Launch Festival in San Francisco. Uber’s surge pricing strategy raises the cost of a ride when demand increases. When a user requests a ride during a surge, Uber’s app will notify them of the price increase, and offer them the choice to confirm that they want the ride. With today’s update, riders can request a push notification when the surge goes away by tapping on a button that says “notify me when surge ends.”