A passenger was dropped at Mexico City airport after a 19-minute ride, but her Uber app kept the trip 'running' for another hour and 31 minutes. Her fare climbed from about $25 to $66.72 before anyone noticed.

Elizabeth Laraki had booked a Black SUV (around $25 rather than $10 for UberX) for a 2:53 a.m. pickup. With no traffic, she reached Terminal 1 by 3:12 a.m. — but the receipt showed the ride ending at 4:25 a.m., with the fare inflated to $42.16 before conversion fees and adjustments pushed the total to $66.72 (MX$1,204.19). Luckily she had evidence: she'd photographed the vehicle's Mexican flags on arrival, and her airport purchases were timestamped while the trip was supposedly still under way.

Here's the frustrating part: Uber has officially known about this scam for years. Its own support pages list two versions — 'Continued Trip,' where the driver keeps driving after drop-off, and 'Time Abuse,' where the driver sits at the destination without ending the ride. Reports date back to at least 2018. In 2024 a passenger reported a ten-minute ride that kept running for two more hours, producing a charge seven times the quote. In August 2025 a Vancouver traveller watched a $30 ride become $80, with Uber initially refusing a refund.

Laraki's case only got resolved when she posted about it on Twitter and passed 300,000 views. Uber then refunded about $40, leaving her total at $26.70 — still $2.14 above the original estimate, with no explanation beyond a label reading 'ajuste por problema tecnico' (adjustment for a technical problem).

The argument in play is that an upfront Uber quote isn't a guaranteed price. If time or distance exceeds the estimate — through route changes or heavy traffic — the fare adjusts. That's not surge pricing, which is already baked in. Leaving a ride open at drop-off simply lets the clock run.

The View from the Wing's take adds context: as Uber squeezes driver pay, there's more incentive to game fares, and automated support makes getting caught less likely. Deactivating a fraudster's account also matters less when legitimate driving isn't worth much anyway. Meanwhile, part of Uber's original appeal was exactly this — no meter arguments, no haggling at the curb.

Practical takeaway for any traveller: when you get out of an Uber, check the app actually shows the trip as ended. Screenshot your upfront quote and the end of the ride, just in case. If you're at the airport while the trip is supposedly still running, your location data and timestamped receipts are your best evidence. Uber arguably should flag extended idling at the destination before charging automatically — but until that happens, protecting yourself is on you.

Story via View from the Wing