Calling an Uber is so easy and second nature these days (at least for the people the
company doesn't randomly ban from the app without explanation) -- but with high demand comes high-priced consequences. Surge pricing during peak travel times can leave you shelling out hundreds of bucks for what would otherwise be a totally reasonable fare. But here's the good news: there are a few handy tricks to get around the price hikes. Keep these in mind next time you're faced with the dreaded 2x.Seriously, if you get a surge notification, sometimes walking a few blocks and trying again makes all the difference. Every city serviced by Uber is broken up into designated "surge zones," each with its own independent price based on the intensity of demand at a given moment. Manhattan, for example, is broken up into 16 distinct zones, which means that you could easily avoid paying a surge fare by simply walking to a different zone to request your car. That's where the brilliant SurgeProtector app comes into play. It taps into the Uber API to show you where you need to go to cross into a zone with lower surge pricing (or none at all). https://www.thrillist.com/tech/nation/how-to-get-around-uber-surge-pricing/tech
