Ride sharing app, Uber has announced a 40% reduction in its taxi fare in Lagos. The reduction is effective, Thursday 4th May 2017.
Uber made this announcement via a press statement and is seen as a response to Taxify, who also announced a price slash earlier this week.
Here is a press statement from Uber.
“We want to make sure that Uber is an affordable way to move around your city, so we’re dropping rates in Lagos by 40% from Thursday 4th May 2017.
“Therefore you can now request a high-quality ride for the same price as small chops!” Whether you’re running a quick errand, visiting friends or commuting to work, Uber has got you covered for less.
How does this help Uber drivers?
Uber claims that a reduction in prices makes them more competitive as it believes that it will attract more customers to the app, thus inadvertentlyeading to more revenue from its drivers.
In furtherance, the management stated that decreasing the fares should get more people requesting more rides with Uber, which leads to drivers spending more time with paying riders and standing a chance to earn the same or more. We aren’t asking drivers to just take our word for it, we are providing temporary earning guarantees until it is clear that this will be the case. These earning guarantees help to ensure driver-partners, who put in the time, don’t lose out. So get riding with Uber and experience the same rides but now at a more affordable price.
This is unregulated competition; the aim is to drive Taxify out of the market after which it can jack up the price ala HiTV and DSTV.. Another possible fall-out of this non-regulation is that they collude and form a monopoly. This isn’t about us, let’s not be deceived