That’ll be £9.40 please, love” – words you never, ever want to hear upon ordering a pint. But hear them you must if you have the audacity to purchase one from the Wardour Street branch of O’Neill’s in Soho, London. Though, in fairness, you’ll only be asked for this eye-watering sum at certain times of night. Yes, that’s right – the Irish chain is dabbling in “surge pricing”.
So far, this capitalist, market-driven form of price gouging has remained largely within the sphere of transport. It’s commonly been confined to cab companies such as Uber and Lyft, the idea being to literally embody the principle of supply and demand. At times when more people are booking taxis – ie, there’s a “surge” in demand – the price of booking a taxi goes up accordingly.
