Tech company reduces fares in 100 US and Canadian cities, Nigeria excluded

folarin okunola

January 11, 2016 2:03 PM

This will be the third year that Uber has cut prices in certain markets in January.

Uber CEO, Travis Kalanick

Uber is currently lowering prices in about 100 US and Canadian cities with the Company saying January is a slower month for the car service and that’s why it is reducing fares with the aim of increasing demand.

“Seasonality affects every business, and Uber is no exception,” the company said in its blog post.

According to a Techcrunch report, Uber says that the increased demand will offset the lower prices and as such drivers will make more money. It also says if this doesn’t work, prices will go back up.

This will be the third year that Uber has cut prices in certain markets in January. For examples, the company showcased US cities Boston, DC, and Los Angeles where past price cuts resulted in increased demand.

READ: Tech company raises new funding, hits $62.5 billion valuation

The story is very different in Nigeria as Uber has been taking the flak from consumers for charging them in dollars.

In past weeks, consumers have been noticing discrepancies between their service charge, as reported by the Uber app, and the debit-card deductions reported by their banks.

Uber is an international company that doesn’t charge in local currency. Doing so would be a logistic nightmare as it is currently present in over 60 countries worldwide.

We are yet to see if the price cuts will be replicated in Nigeria but that is highly unlikely, especially with the state of the Nigerian economy.

folarin okunola