On Uber and Lyft, different prices for the same ride

A Consumer Reports investigation finds Uber and Lyft riders often see different prices even when they request rides at the same time on the same route.

A new Consumer Reports investigation released Tuesday 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.

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These price differences may be familiar to Uber and Lyft users who have compared fares with someone else. But the new report found the discrepancies can be dramatic.

Derek Kravitz, the lead author of the report, says Uber and Lyft have access to a huge amount of customer data within the app, and that this information could be used by the companies to predict what a customer might be willing to pay.