#DeleteUber: Why people are closing their Uber accounts amid Trump protests

The one-hour strike from the New York Taxi Workers Alliance on Saturday night was meant as a protest from a largely-immigrant industry against Mr Trump’s ban, intended to disrupt travel around the airport. The strike, which was in solidarity with protesters at JFK and other airports around the US, encouraged drivers from Uber and Lyft, a rival car-sharing service, to join in.

Uber suspends surge pricing

Shortly after the strike started, Uber said it had suspended surge pricing, a feature that multiplies the cost of fares when demand is particularly high.

The company was first accused of undermining the protest. One critic said it was “breaking a strike to profit off of refugees being consigned to Hell”.

Uber denied it had meant to break the strike. It apologised, saying: “We're sorry for any confusion about our earlier tweet—it was not meant to break up any strike. We wanted people to know they could use Uber to get to and from JFK at normal prices, especially last night."

It has previously been criticised when surge pricing has been introduced during crises, for example during an attack at a café in Sydney, and during more recent incidents has turned off the feature.

#DeleteUber 

Despite Uber saying it did not mean to undermine the strike, many people tweeted over the weekend that they were deleting their accounts.

The #DeleteUber hashtag trended widely in the US and abroad, with several UK users also saying they were removing the app in protest against the company.

Uber chief’s Trump ties

Users also expressed anger at Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick’s position on Mr Trump’s economic advisory group - a council of business leaders that also includes Tesla’s Elon Musk, General Motors’ Mary Barra and Disney’s Bob Iger.

The group will hold its first meeting this Friday. In an email to employees, Mr Kalanick defended sitting on the council.

“I understand that many people internally and externally may not agree with that decision, and that’s OK,” he said.

“It's the magic of living in America that people are free to disagree. But whatever your view please know that I’ve always believed in principled confrontation and just change; and have never shied away (maybe to my detriment) from fighting for what’s right.”

Mr Kalanick also criticised Mr Trump’s ban, saying it would have broad implications for its many immigrant drivers - Uber does not categorise them as employees but as self-employed drivers. In his email, titled “Standing up for what’s right”, he said the company would compensate drivers for any lost earnings and provide legal support for them.

In a later email he called the policy a “wrong and unjust immigration ban”.

Lyft donates $1m to the ACLU

The row appeared to turn into a rivalry between Uber and Lyft on Sunday when the latter said it would donate $1m (£800,000) to the American Civil Liberties Union over the next four years.

In an email to customers it said: “Banning people of a particular faith or creed, race or identity, sexuality or ethnicity, from entering the US is antithetical to both Lyft's and our nation's core values.

“We stand firmly against these actions, and will not be silent on issues that threaten the values of our community.”

Several Twitter users in Britain requested that Lyft come to the UK. The app has so far not expanded outside of the US.

Lyft and Uber are fierce rivals. The two San Francisco-based companies offer similar services, and have accused each other of poaching drivers and even hacking one another's systems.

The donation was seen by some as an attempt capitalise on bad press about Uber, however. It joins several wealthy investors and tech companies in donating to the organisation, which lodged legal challenges against Mr Trump’s ban over the weekend.