Uber is now cheaper than a Delhi auto-rickshaw. On Friday, the
ride-sharing service announced new revised fares where its Go service
now costs only
Rs.7 per kilometres. Uber Go is the lowest SKU of the service, which offers an air-conditioned hatchback as a taxi.
In comparison, in Delhi people have to pay
Rs.8.5/km for auto-rickshaw.
Uber has also reduced fares of its Uber Black and Uber X services. Uber X, which is its most popular SKU now costs
Rs.9/Km, while Uber Black is
Rs.12/km. Uber Black is the premium SKU, which offers luxury cars.
This
new price cut comes a day after reports that suggest the government of
India may ban Uber's IP address, making the app unusable in India. Back
in December, the service was banned in Delhi after one of its drivers
allegedly raped a passenger. The incident highlighted that the service
was "illegally" operating in India as it lacked permit to run taxi
services. But after a month the company applied for the radio taxi
permit. It is yet to get the permit but just like Ola Cabs it is up and
running.
On Friday, Uber India on Twitter announced the price cut
with a hashtag -- #UberLovesIndia -- that suggests the price cut could
be an emotional appeal to its users so that popular opinion can be
turned into its favour, Despite the rape case, the service has proven to
be popular in the country as its service is seamless and reliable as
opposed to other taxi services.
It has always been competitive in
terms of pricing, but now, it is cheaper than even the iconic rickshaws
of the capital, which charge
Rs.8.5/killometer.
Uber claims that a ride from Connaught Place, which is the central hub
of Delhi to the international airport will cost a customer
Rs.128 using Uber Go.
"You
no longer have to stand in queues outside airports & railway
stations to get a Taxi OR get drenched during the monsoons hailing an
Auto. Nothing can beat the fares and the convenience of moving around in
an Uber," Uber claimed in a blog post.
Uber has also faced stiff
competition in India. Ride services like Meru allegedly lobbied against
it which led to the RBI ordering it to use the standard two-factor
authentication payment system used in the country for online credit card
use. OLA Cabs, a start-up, which provides a service similar to Uber,
has even attained funding from Japanese giant SoftBank.