WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congressional Monopoly Busters Caucus co-chairs Representatives Angie Craig (MN-02), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Chris Deluzio (PA-17) and Pat Ryan (NY-18) pressed rideshare giants Uber and Lyft following reports that the companies employed artificial intelligence (AI) driven surveillance pricing to charge passengers different prices for the same route.

Their efforts follow a recent investigation by Consumer Reports, which found that Uber and Lyft routinely charge different customers significantly different prices for rides ordered at roughly the same times. For example, a route in Minneapolis resulted in a price difference of 50% and another route in New York resulted in a price difference of 152%. Uber and Lyft control a combined 95 percent of the ride-hailing market.

In a letter to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and Lyft CEO David Risher, the co-chairs blasted the companies for exploiting people's personal data to price gouge passengers and demanded transparency about their use of AI-driven algorithms and dynamic pricing models.

"This is not a functional, nor is it a fair marketplace," the co-chairs wrote. "Many Americans depend on your services to go to work, purchase groceries or visit their loved ones. It is alarming that the two companies controlling approximately 95 percent of the ride-hailing market use surveillance, dynamic or personalized pricing to scam Americans."

"Big Tech's weaponization of our data to maximize profit on essential services is, at best, a profound breach of trust, and at worst, illegal. The practice of charging our constituents secret, individualized prices for the same trip is unacceptable, especially when working families are being squeezed from every direction," the co-chairs concluded.

You can read the full text of the letter HERE.

Issues: Science, Technology, & Antitrust