Drivers in the same area coordinate to log out of the taxi-hailing app so their cars drop off the list of available rides causing prices to rise, say researchers

Uber drivers are secretly colluding to cause price surges that allow them to charge customers more, according to research seen by The Times.

Academics interviewed Uber drivers in London and New York and analysed 1,012 posts on the independent Uberpeople.net site, finding that drivers were playing the company’s algorithms.

According to the researchers, drivers in the same area co-ordinate to log out of the taxi-hailing app so that their cars drop off the list of available rides.

This causes prices to increase in line with the economics of supply and demand, with fares potentially rising to several times the normal rate.

The team from Warwick Business School, in Coventry, and New York University cited a conversation on one online forum where a London driver