THE DATA PROVES IT: Two clear ways drivers lose out during surge times in Uber

THE DATA PROVES IT: Two clear ways drivers lose out during surge times in Leeds and all over UK 🛑⚡

To anyone wondering why our petition demands legal transparency and algorithmic accountability, I am sharing the exact facts from two separate occasions this week that expose how the current system fails working drivers.
Occasion 1: The Outrageous Commission Split
On a recent short trip from Leeds Train Station to Marsden House, the customer app explicitly displayed a surge warning and charged the rider a premium rate. Here is how that fare was split:
Rider Fare Charged by Uber: £13.94
Driver Payout Received: £7.00
Uber's Platform Cut: £6.94 (49.8% gone instantly!)
The platform used high demand to justify charging the passenger extra, but pocketed nearly half the fare for itself while passing a fraction of surge incentive down to the driver on the wheel.

Occasion 2: The Entirely Hidden Surge
On a completely separate evening, a check on the customer app showed a clear warning: “~ Fares higher than usual” for a trip from Wellington Street to student accommodation. The customer was being charged a premium surge price because of a driver shortage. Yet, on the driver's app at that exact same moment, there was absolutely no surge cloud, no heat map, and no bonus offer showing. The surge was completely concealed from the driver.
What this proves:
These two examples prove that "surge" is being used as a hidden platform fee rather than a driver incentive. The platform either hides the surge from the driver entirely (Occasion 2), or absorbs the price difference as pure profit (Occasion 1).
Drivers carry 100% of the financial burden for fuel, specialized private hire insurance, vehicle finance, and maintenance. We are calling on the Department for Transport and local licensing authorities to implement a strict, legal cap on platform commissions and mandate that passenger surge fees directly mirror driver payouts.
We are currently at 144 signatures and fighting to reach our next milestone of 200. Please copy our petition link and share this text directly into your taxi base WhatsApp groups and driver chats today:

Screenshots of the above scenarios saved.