Uber warns of higher prices and longer wait times following Toronto’s decision to freeze new licences for its bikes program.
The company’s statement said bikes would continue to be available as usual after Toronto’s announcement, but warned customers that Uber has “not ruled out increased price increases for its bike network.”
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The price for the ride will increase, along with the number of requests to book a bike, as the company looks to add more capacity to the service.
“To cover this, we will increase prices on our other rides across the city,” the company said in a statement.
Uber said it hasn’t made an official decision on increasing prices yet and it’s still making plans to open a new bike station on Bloor Street in the Bloor-Yonge area.
It’s unclear yet how the price hikes, and the increased traffic, could affect rides in the city. Toronto transportation chair Councillor Chris Beáta said he was concerned about possible impact, but admitted, “not knowing how it’s going to affect our users.”
The chair also said he is still working out the best way to deal with Uber‘s decision to suspend new bike stations.
“I think in the short term, I’m going to sit and wait and see what happens,” he said. “We have to talk long term, but I don’t know if there is any point spending the time here.”
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Uber will not add any more bikes to the system, Uber spokesperson Christina D’Amore confirmed.
Toronto launched its self-driving vehicle program, known as “uberX,” in 2017.
It was the first of three self-driving vehicle programs — alongside Volvo’s XC90 and Google’s Argo — announced by the city since it hired Uber’s self-driving car technology chief Dara Khosrowshahi as
