Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
The cost of hailing an Uber in the Tampa Bay area are going up, but the ride hailing company said the rates are still lower than they were at the end of 2015.
In an email Thursday, Uber said the company is raising rates by 11 percent in Tampa Bay. The move comes just a few months after the company dropped its rates to entice more drivers.
The company charged $1.80 per mile when it started in Tampa Bay in 2014. According to a Jan. 14 story in the Tampa Bay Times, Uber set the fare at 65 cents a mile.
“Earlier this year we lowered rates in Tampa Bay to encourage more riders to use Uber. We promised that if those rate cuts didn’t work for driver-partners as well, fares would go back up. Because Uber only works when it’s working well for both riders and drivers,” said Christine Mitchell, the general manager for Uber Tampa Bay in an email to customers Thursday. “Today we are keeping that promise and raising rates by 11% in Tampa Bay.”
According to the company’s website, the per mile fare for an UberX is now 80 cents a mile.
“Fares will still be lower than in December,” said Mitchell in the email. “But these changes should mean less surge pricing and lower waiting times as more drivers will be on the road.”
