Theatregoers and late-evening revellers are being left stranded as Muslim Uber drivers stop work at sunset to break their Ramadan fast.
Users of the taxi app have been surprised by unusually blank screens and subsequent “surge pricing” — fares rising in times of high demand — when they try to get a lift at the time of the sunset meal, at about 9pm.
Many of Uber’s drivers are Muslim and the company has encouraged all drivers to think about the effect of Ramadan, which ends on June 24. A spokesman said non-Muslims were advised of the extra evening work when their colleagues pause to eat.
Last June, Riz Ahmed, star of the films Rogue One and Four Lions, tweeted: “Get ready for intense Uber surge pricing at sunset. 75% of the workforce will be breaking fast.”
One driver wrote on the drivers’ forum: “I took advantage of [last] Ramadan when our Muslim brothers were fasting and made some extra dough.”