Uber has announced that it will be reduce ride fares across 48 cities in the United States, the New York Times reports, promising to boost pay for drivers with the initiative.
"We expect that these seasonal price cuts will help bring newer Uber markets in line with our larger ones with lower costs for riders, higher earnings for drivers, shorter wait times for both and a better experience for all," the company wrote in a blog statement, according to the site.
Although some fare cuts can be expected in major cities like New York and Los Angeles, the majority of them will affect smaller cities among the ranks of Milwaukee and Nashville.
Following Uber's announcement, some online users expressed their skepticism to the deal:
"Why not drop the fares by 95 percent, then we could all expect about 50 rides per hour?" an UberPeople.net user named anOzzieUber responded.
The company's future in China, among others, remains unknown: the People Republic of China's Ministry of Transport posted new guidelines on Friday that forbids private cars and unlicensed vehicles from offering services through ride-hailing mobile applications, CNN reports.
Although Uber does not own cars in China nor works with private drivers, its "People's Uber" initiative, which works with state-owned companies for transportation, may be at stake for regulations.
"The lesson is, government regulation is a hurdle international app companies could not overlook when they enter the Chinese market, where the presence of local ecosystems presents a strong challenge," said Siyun Zeng, an analyst at IHS Technology, according to CNN.
The governments of Spain and Thailand banned Uber services in their respective countries late last year.
