Uber Lowers Rates In NYC On UberX And UberXL Services

In a blog post, Uber said the reason for the price cuts is seasonality – ride requests tend to drop in winter months.

In an effort to increase demand, Uber is slashing its prices by about 15% throughout New York City. Meanwhile, the minimum fare on a trip will be $7, down from $8.

The price drop-which went into effect at 7am-is a tactic by the company to win over customers while increasing driver demand and reducing time between fares.

The base fare for an UberX will now be $2.55, instead of $3; the per mile rate will go from $2.15 to $1.75; and the per minute rate will drop from $0.40 to $0.35. The cuts have already started in some cities, but will extend to all planned areas by today.

If that does not happen this time around, Uber says it is prepared to revert prices back to what they were.

The new pricing makes Uber cheaper than competitor Lyft, whose current prices in New York City are exactly the same as Uber’s old prices. They expect to shave even more idle time off this time.

But Mohrer said this is the way business works. Taxi drivers, though, disagreed with that logic. Unlike black cars, their prices are set by the Taxi and Limousine Commission, so they can’t drop their prices to compete.

As with most everything Uber does, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which represents drivers within the fixed-rate yellow cab system, is not stoked.