Ride-sharing firm Uber announced on Friday, January 9th that it was slashing ride prices in U.S. 48 cities, but that it was offering earnings guarantees to drivers in those cities. The company said in a blog post Friday that increased demand resulting from lower prices in these busy cities means that most driver’s will actually make more per hour due to increased efficiencies.
Uber has been suffering from a lot of bad press lately regarding legal and regulatory issues in a number of cities across the globe, so management wisely decided to refocus the media attention on the company in a more positive light.
Chicago as an example
The rapidly growing car-sharing firm noted that they had already highlighted New York drivers’ increasing earnings in September, but decided to illustrate their point using Chicago, the cheapest of all of Uber’s U.S. cities. Comparing December 2014 to Decemer 2013, Uber’s blog post noted that fares in Chicago now are 23% less than they were a year ago, but drivers are making 12% more in fares per hour on average.
Statement from Uber
“We feel that it is important for drivers to have this kind of certainty and comfort going into a price cut,” the company said in its blog post.
“The upside for the rider is obvious, but also important is that with the increased demand, drivers’ income goes up as well,” the post continues. “More demand turns into significantly more efficiency for the driver, more trips for every hour, and more earnings for every hour on the road.”
The company’s blog post closes on a positive note: “We expect that these seasonal price cuts will help bring newer Uber markets in line with our larger ones with lower costs for riders, higher earnings for drivers, shorter wait times for both, and a better experience for all.”
