Uber isn't letting post-holiday frugalness slow it down. To combat the inevitable fall in business, the ride-sharing service has announced price cuts in almost 100 American and Canadian cities, according to Bloomberg. The price drops began on Saturday.
January is the slowest time of year for many businesses, and it's a hard shift to make.
"It goes from being one of our busiest periods of the year to the slowest," said Andrew Macdonald, Uber's regional general manager of the Midwest, South, Canada, and Latin America, according to Business Insider.
Popular cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston will see prices cut between 10 and 20 percent. Cities like New York City, Boston and Chicago, however, aren't experiencing the same benefits as of yet.
This isn't a long-term change, as the company can raise their prices if business revs up again. A similar situation occurred in Charlotte after Uber cut prices by 40 percent, CNBC reported. Drivers were suffering from the cuts, and the company raised the prices up nearly as soon as they dropped them.
This is because drivers aren't paid by the hour. Instead, they are paid according to fares. When prices drop for riders, drivers begin making much less.
To fix this, Uber is guaranteeing that drivers will receive a definitive amount of money per hour in cities that are experiencing price cuts.
