Uber is a very well-known name in transportation entrepreneurship. The company has disrupted taxi businesses in a lot of tourist spots by offering its own fleet of luxury vehicles. Although the cost of taking an uber ride is nearly double that of a taxi, a lot of people are willing to pay this additional sum due to the excellent car on its fleet.
Now, the company has plans of expanding its scope so as to be more feasible and preferable for more common commuters. Uber is now planning to launch ‘hybrid rides.’ These will essentially be low-cost and greener rides which, at the same time, will cost much less compared to regular Uber rides. An estimate puts the price for these rides at 10 to 25 percent more than that of taxis, compared to the double premium that Uber charges on its actual luxury rides.
So far, Uber has been a very successful venture. It was able to raise $43 million from venture capitalists and initially ventured into San Francisco. The company proved to be very promising in the area and now, has been planning on expanding further.
According to the CEO of Uber, they did run into some problems as the authorities wanted to keep the competition fair for all cab drivers. He says, “They want to keep our prices from going down, which is a very unusual price-fixing scheme. Essentially they’re trying to protect taxis from competition, from having any viable alternative.”
Source: NY Times
Courtesy: GigaOM
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