While Uber (UBER) started out as an alternative to the high prices and the unpredictability of cab rides, the gap is narrowing. Between skyrocketing gas prices and market dominance, the average Uber price rose by 92% between 2018 and 2021.
Online lender NetCredit recently crunched the numbers on how much an Uber costs in different cities and countries. Among the 30 biggest cities across the world, it looked at the price of a 10-kilometre, or 6.2-mile, ride from the very core of the city.
Where Should You Basically Never Get An Uber?
In the United States, New York was the most expensive city to hail a ride — the average price sits at $34.74.
Going off of personal experience, a recent evening cab ride from John F. Kennedy Airport to Manhattan set me back around $75 with tip while the cheapest Uber ride to the same location was presented at $85.
Nashville is only slightly behind with $34.63 while equidistant rides in Detroit or San Antonio will only set one back a respective $12.60 and $13.45.
NetCredit
Given that California gas prices are some of the highest in the country, Los Angeles came as a surprise at $18.58.
"What's hurting Uber customers so much in New York is not that the service is expensive but that it is so much more so than it used to be," reads the report. "Uber usage in the city fell by 16% in just a few months the year before the pandemic, with new congestion fees compounded by the fact that ride-sharing apps had been 'artificially cheap' to establish the service."
Washington, D.C. did not make the list of the ten most expensive capital cities to get an Uber. The top spot was taken by Switzerland's Bern, where a 10-kilometre ride costs $42.80.
Back in March, Uber and Lyft LYFT and added a $0.55 fuel surcharge to all of its trips in the U.S. to offset gas prices that spiked amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
NetCredit
"In many cities across Europe, we have increased Uber prices to help drivers with the recent spike in operating costs," an Uber spokesperson said of recent price hikes in April. "As always, riders will get a trip price before booking their journey."
Switzerland vs. Texas
Cities like Oslo, Tokyo, Paris and Dublin dominated the top five capitals with the most expensive rides — in all those places, a ride of that length will cost more than $28.
Due to inequality in global currencies and incomes, cities in Pakistan, Nigeria and India dominated the list of the cheapest global capitals to get an Uber.
But in the U.S., oil- and gas-loving Texas remains one of the cheapest places to use ride-hailing apps.
