Kochi: Thiruvananthapuram is among 10 cities across the country where app-based taxi aggregator Uber has announced reduction in rental charges by upto 22 per cent to take on rival Ola. “UberGO prices in the state capital will be cut by 18 per cent. This means the minimum base price for rental services has been cut to Rs 40 from the existing Rs 50. Now a customer needs to pay only Rs 7 per km instead of Rs 9 so far,” a Uber spokesperson said.
Recently, Ola had announced its plan to introduce microcabs in Kochi to offer rides at Rs 6 per km. Uber was already offering rides for Rs 7 per km in the industrial capital.
“Uber rides will now be more affordable, leading it to be a viable alternative to people driving their own cars. The price reduction will also offer an economic opportunity for hundreds of thousands of micro-entrepreneurs on the platform,” he said.
Uber also effected rental charge reduction in cities like Pune (15 per cent), Ahmedabad (17 per cent), Jodhpur (22 per cent), Udaipur (22 per cent), Ajmer (18 per cent), Indore (9 per cent), Nagpur (9 per cent), Vizag (16 per cent) and Mangalore (20 per cent). Uber and Ola have an individual fleet of over 3000 cars in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
