According to FIn24, Uber has announced that it will be reducing fares for its UberX option in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg for the winter months.
This comes as great news, while the price of petrol saw a massive hike at midnight last night.
Getting out and about the city during winter isn’t as appealing or popular as it is in warmer months so Uber drivers find themselves with less business than usual.
Also read: How do Uber drivers rate you?
A cheaper winter
The ride-sharing service says that it will be cutting fares by up to 20% on all UberX options this winter.
The upside of this is not only that riders will enjoy reduced rates, but Uber drivers will benefit from increased income due to a higher demand compared to previously quiet winter months.
Good news or bad news?
However, according to Eyewitness News 200 Uber drivers stopped working and marched towards its Greenpoint offices this morning (7 April 2016) to dispute the price cuts.
An Uber spokesperson said that decisions to reduce its rates for winter came after an overall success in North America where increased demand was evident due to lower ride fares for the quieter seasons.
As you will see below, we are so confident that this will be a success in South Africa, that we are willing to GUARANTEE YOUR EARNINGS.
Uber has reduced fares in many other countries across the world and the impact has been positive. In these countries, after reducing fares, we have seen an increase in the number of trips which new and existing riders take. This has led to an INCREASE IN PARTNER EARNINGS -“ which means that all partners and driver-partners are BETTER OFF after all of their costs." –Uber
