Uber raises prices in the UK in bid to attract more drivers

The taxi app is raising the per mile rate and minimum fare for drivers, which will lead to fare increases for users.

Changes to peak hours, minimum fares and price changes will lead to a 5% increase for grabbing an Uber in London, though the increase will vary city by city. The increase is described as a move to grow its driver base in London with 8000 new drivers, in order to meet demand and boost service levels.

This follows measures brought in by Uber to give drivers access to holiday pay and pension plans, which it feels like it is holding up as a virtuous act in the announcement. “Uber treats UK drivers as workers” boasts the company – however they have to since they lost a court case in which they were appealing to keep drivers classified as contractors.

Uber seems keen to position itself as the better place to work for app-based taxi drivers, with the announcement stating: “Other operators such as Bolt have refused to recognise the worker status of drivers, denying drivers who choose to use their app protections such as a guaranteed National Living Wage, access to pension payments, and holiday pay.”

Andrew Brem, General Manager for the UK and Ireland, Uber said: “London has come back to life with a bang following the pandemic and in order to meet the growing demand for Uber rides, we are looking to sign up 8,000 new drivers in the capital. Minimum base rates will increase across the UK in order to attract these new drivers, which will be in addition to the 10,000 that have joined Uber across the UK following the move to provide holiday pay and a pension. This is aimed at helping to boost driver earnings and help to keep London moving with a reliable Uber service.”

There are of course two sides to this. The effective increase in pay for Uber drivers will no doubt be celebrated by them in a time of inflation and the cost of living crisis, however the same pressures effect its customers.

In general, if firms opt to fund pay rises for staff directly via cost increases to their products, that’s when consumers might start rethinking their spending for what are essentially luxury goods. After all, you can’t forgo power and water even when prices are soaring, but unless you find yourself with no other option, you could perhaps forgo a promptly delivered Prius to ferry you about.

Get the latest news straight to your inbox. Register for the Telecoms.com newsletter here.