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Jayapal questions Uber, Lyft over AI-based fares
A consumer reports investigation found fare differences of up to 152 percent for identical routes.
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Malvika Choudhary - Tue, 23, Jun 2026
- 16:45 EDT
- 30
Pramila Jayapal / Wikimedia commons
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal joined a congressional push to investigate Uber and Lyft after a report found riders were charged sharply different prices for the same trips, raising concerns about the companies' use of AI-driven pricing.
Jayapal, co-chair of the Congressional Monopoly Busters Caucus, joined Reps. Angie Craig, Chris Deluzio and Pat Ryan in a letter to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and Lyft CEO David Risher demanding details about the companies' pricing practices.
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The letter follows a recent Consumer Reports investigation that found Uber and Lyft routinely charged different customers significantly different prices for rides ordered at roughly the same time.
According to the report, fares for the same route differed by as much as 50 percent in Minneapolis and 152 percent in New York.
The lawmakers noted that Uber and Lyft together control approximately 95 percent of the U.S. ride-hailing market and questioned whether the companies use personal data and artificial intelligence-powered algorithms to determine individualized fares.
In their letter, the lawmakers accused the companies of using surveillance-based, dynamic or personalized pricing models that could exploit consumers and called for greater transparency about how fares are calculated.
“This is not a functional, nor is it a fair marketplace,” the lawmakers 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.”
The caucus leaders argued that the reported practices raise concerns about fairness and consumer protection, particularly for people who rely on ride-hailing services for work, errands and other essential travel.
“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 lawmakers wrote. “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 lawmakers are seeking detailed information from Uber and Lyft about how their pricing algorithms operate and whether personal consumer data is used to determine fares.
In December 2025, Jayapal and other caucus leaders called for an investigation into grocery delivery platform Instacart over similar allegations that customers were charged different prices for identical products based on algorithmic profiling and shopping behavior.
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