Uber is now 13% cheaper in Birmingham

Tens of thousands of people across Birmingham already use Uber to get from A to B. And we want pushing a button and booking a ride through Uber to be the most affordable option in Birmingham – and for the drivers who use our app to have more fare-paying passengers in their car for each hour on the road.

So, following a detailed review of pricing in Birmingham, fares in the city are on Friday being reduced by an average of 13%. This is the first pricing change since we launched here just over a year ago.

Here’s how the new pricing measures up:

Average fares taken across a range of similar trips with Birmingham black cabs, Birmingham’s largest private hire operators and the Uber app. Fares rounded to the nearest 10p. All trips taken Jan-Feb 2016.

As well as helping people get home safely from a night out, we also want using Uber to be an affordable option during the day – whether it’s getting to work, bringing home the shopping or going to a big meeting on the other side of town.

And with cheaper fares we believe Uber can now be a true alternative to people driving their own cars into the city centre, with all the hassle and cost that parking brings.

Encouraging more people to use Uber is also good for drivers who use our app. When prices have been reduced in other cities the result has been more people using Uber and more often. With less time waiting for trips and driving empty – and more time with fare paying passengers in their car – drivers can make more money for their time on the road.

This is exactly what happened when we reduced fares in London and an increase in demand meant payments to Uber partner-drivers went up. In the three months after the price cut, the number of trips each hour increased by almost 15% and average hourly payments went up by more than 6% compared with the three months before.

It’s our priority that Uber remains an attractive option for drivers who use our app – without them, we can’t help move Birmingham. We believe these changes will lead to drivers being busier, but while the city adjusts to the new prices we are putting in place minimum payment guarantees for drivers. And if the amount partner-drivers make on the road isn’t what we expect, we’ll reassess this price change.

Uber is all about making sure people have a convenient, safe and affordable ride at the push of a button. With these changes we believe we can give even more people in Birmingham the option to leave their car at home and let Uber help them get where they need to be.