Dive Brief: 

• Uber is apologizing for its latest public offense with free rides. 
• The car service was in hot water this week—yet another in a recent string of them—for surge pricing during a hostage standoff with a gunman in a coffee shop in Sydney, Australia. 
• People took to social media to complain about the higher prices in the area with the hashtag #ubersydney, and the company soon posted on its blog that it would refund fares from that day and offer free rides.

Dive Insight: 

Uber claims that it has surge pricing for busy times to encourage drivers to pick up—which makes business sense. But considering its recent PR problems, the company could have handled pick ups during the Sydney incident more gracefully. If the service wants to continue to expand into new markets, it needs to promote a cleaner image going forward.