Rising petrol prices cause Uber fares to spike

The rising petrol price in South Africa has a knock-on effect on all consumers, especially on motorists and transport services. The e-hailing super group, Uber, have recently announced an increase in fares.

The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) were the first to announce an increase in August following sharp petrol price hikes in July.

While petrol prices remain relatively unchanged in August, a warning issued for a double-digit increase in September, coupled with record high prices recorded in June, have forced e-haling taxi service, Uber, to pump up its local rates.

Benefit to Uber drivers

The multinational taxi company sent a message to its South African users, announcing that its fares would be increasing from 31 July.

Times Live reported on the increase, detailing its effect on Uber customers. On the issue of the fare hike, the company said:

“The minimum fare for your UberX rides throughout South Africa will be increased from R20 to R25. The Port Elizabeth uberGO minimum fare has also changed from R17 to R20.”

Uber has claimed that the decision to rise standard rates are aimed at benefitting its drivers.

Changes and improvements

Commenting on the improved earning potential afforded to drivers through the fare increase, Uber said:

“We are making various changes and improvements to help provide reliable earning opportunities for driver-partners and a reliable service for you.

As more drivers look to Uber as an earning opportunity‚ this small increase will still make it possible for riders to access affordable transport whilst providing profitable earnings for driver-partners.”

Following a driver-led mutiny in June, the company has sought to further reconcile with their employees by announcing a ratings-based subsidy, saying:

“To show our appreciation and recognition of our driver-partners’ loyalty‚ we are currently rolling out a pilot tiered service fee. The more trips completed by a driver-partner and the higher their rating‚ the lower their weekly Uber service fee is.”

Earlier this week, Santaco announced it would be increasing its standard taxi fare by R1 to R10 for local trips and R1 to R20 for long-distance journeys.