Dynamic / Surge Pricing (Uber & KakaoT) Help Center

What exactly does Uber's algorithm look at to change my fare in real time?

It splits a city into hundreds of small zones, continuously computes the "requests vs. available drivers" ratio for each, and multiplies the fare automatically once that ratio crosses a threshold.

Same time, same route — can two people really be charged different fares?

There's evidence it happens — "surveillance pricing," where fares are set based on personal data estimating how much you individually will pay, drew consumer-advocacy scrutiny in 2025-2026.

Did Korea's KakaoT ever have a "pay more, get matched faster" feature?

Yes — "Smart Call" fees switched from a flat ₩1,000 to a real-time ₩0-5,000 range in August 2021, sparked public backlash, and the feature was scrapped entirely a month later.

Is the surge on delivery-app fees during rain the same mechanism?

Yes — but delivery-fee dynamics are already covered in depth on this page's "Delivery Apps" tab (Korean version); this tab focuses on ride-hailing.

Is dynamic/surge pricing itself illegal?

No — pricing that moves with supply and demand isn't illegal on its own. Regulatory focus is on what personal data is used to set the price, and how transparently that's disclosed to consumers.

There's already a base fare — why does Uber also push for a tip? Is there a real penalty for not tipping?

Uber's official policy says tipping is optional and 100% goes to the driver — but a 2024 redesign moved the tip-selection screen to appear before the driver rating screen, and Uber itself said the goal was "to encourage better tipping behavior."

Is Korea's KakaoT also pushing tipping culture the way Uber does?

KakaoT added its own tip feature, but — unlike Uber — the tip screen only appears if the rider already gave a 5-star rating. Even so, 71.7% of respondents opposed the feature in a public survey.

Uber pushed a premium fare tier in Korea and then tried to raise driver commissions — what actually happened?

Through 2025–2026 Uber expanded a premium ride tier in Korea priced up to 2x standard fares, then in May 2026 tried to raise driver commissions by up to 8% — before withdrawing the plan under government and ruling-party pushback.