http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/08/uber-reaches-agreement-with-n-y-on-surge-pricing-during-emergencies/?_php=true&_type=blogs&ref=technology&_r=0

This leads to some complex questions on both sides of the issue.  After Uber's public relations debacle during Hurricane Sanday, it was quite clear that they couldn't continue an unrestricted surge pricing model, though in that context it was more from the perspective of a public relations question than a legal one. 

Uber has now agreed to price within the restrictions of NYC's Price Gouging Law, meaning prices will be restricted to a ceiling during certain periods.  Where this seems unclear is whether or not a particular emergency must be declared, i.e. another Hurricane, or whether it's simply a remarkably high volume period of demand - think a pouring rainstorm that hits at last call on a Friday night. 

Going forward, what will be the manner in which this ceiling is defined, and is it necessarily fair?  Price gouging, at a general level, is agreed upon to be an unfair and unethical practice.  But can Uber necessarily be defined in the same fashion as, say, a vital supply such as water?