Alex Pedersen wrote a letter to Lyft and Uber regarding their price surging policies in emergency situations.

SEATTLE — Editor's note: The above video aired on Jan. 23, a day after the shooting in downtown Seattle.

Rideshare companies Uber and Lyft were criticized in the wake of a deadly shooting in downtown Seattle after several customers reported a huge increase in fares.

The shooting occurred Jan. 22 in the city's busy downtown corridor during rush hour at Third and Pine. Buses and other methods of transit were delayed or shut down.

Prices on Uber and Lyft rides rose as much as five times the normal rate in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. One viewer sent a screenshot to KING 5, showing a 6-minute ride that cost $105.

The automated “surge pricing,” which kicks in during periods of high demand, lasted for about an hour before the companies manually reset prices to normal levels.

In the aftermath of the shooting, and looking ahead to possible emergency situations like it, Seattle City Councilmember Alex Pedersen wrote a letter to both companies looking for answers.

"This business practice by either company would be deeply disturbing in a city that permits you to use our public streets. Access to mobility during emergencies should not be determined by the ability to pay," Pedersen wrote in the letter.

Both companies issued a statement after receiving criticism online.

"When we learned what happened, we implemented a cap on prime time pricing, which is automatically enabled during periods of high demand. We plan to reimburse or credit users in the surrounding area who were increased by this pricing," a Lyft spokesperson said a day after the shooting.

"...We capped surge just after 6 when we became aware of the incident (for the area about a mile radius from where the incident occurred," said Uber Communications Manager Grant Klinzman on Jan. 23.

Uber did not make any mention of reimbursing customers.

In light of what happened, Pedersen asked both companies to confirm to him personally that surge pricing occurred and asked if they had been able to refund impacted customers.

He also asked for a formal policy on pricing for such emergencies to be shared with his office and the City of Seattle's Office of Emergency Management.