Uber-style pricing is coming for everything

Things being cheaper off-peak is not new, and is not surprising. We still have movie theater matinees, out-of-season hotel rates. Many (most?) electric companies have discounted after-hour tariffs. People of my generation will remember discounted long distance calls on "nights and weekends". We all are aware of "happy hours".

But there's a difference between peak pricing, which we're all familiar with, or when you can be left stranded or having paid money for something that suddenly escalates in price with the hour for no good reason, for no reason, and for no fault of your own.

I took an Uber to a show the other night and paid $11. Great. Suddenly, the ride home - same distance, no traffic, no weather conditions - was over $38. No way I could have predicted it in advance. I used a different service that got me home for, yes, $11, but sheesh.

Peak pricing is just business, and for a consumer, off-peak published rates present a valid choice. Sudden, 400x escalation in pricing for no obvious reason is chaos, the dream of monopolies against mere people.

> In the future, the ideal time to eat a burger won’t be when you’re hungry and really hankering for one. It’ll be the oddest, most awkward hours — late mornings or afternoons, the middle of the night on a Tuesday — the slices of time when prices will be lowest

Huge misunderstanding of "ideal".

Ideal is not just about price.

And no, cost is not incurred at time of eating, but at time of purchase.