Uber suspends surge pricing after Kejriwal warning

New Delhi: Online cab service provider Uber on Monday suspended its surge pricing after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal threatened "strict action" against over-charging cabs. "Given the threat to the livelihood of our partners, at the expense of reliability, we are temporarily suspending surge with immediate effect," Uber tweeted. Uber did not specify if the surge pricing would resume after the second phase of the odd-even traffic scheme ends on April 30. It also pledged to work with the Delhi government to provide reliable mobility solutions to people in the city, "especially at a time when the citizens need us the most". Kejriwal warned of strict action against online cab aggregators, specially Ola and Uber, over arbitrary surge pricing. The Delhi government on Monday directed the impounding of taxis charging exorbitant fare from the public. Surge pricing is a technique used by the cab aggregators to hike the fares owing to higher demand. The demand for taxis has shot up on account of the odd-even traffic scheme that started on April 15 and will run till April 30. Under the scheme, aimed at battling pollution, diesel and petrol driven private vehicles with odd registration numbers can ply only on odd dates and those with even registration numbers on even dates.