New Year's Eve partygoers, you've been warned: Uber and Lyft both predict prices for rides starting around midnight and continuing into the morning hours of 2015 will be extremely high.
Uber expects to provide rides for close to 2 million people around the world on New Year's Eve, according to a company blog post. The company expects demand and what it calls "surge pricing" to reach its peak around 12:30 and 2:30 a.m. Thursday in all markets.
"This New Year's Eve we expect to deliver more than 2 million rides in just 24 hours," said Uber in a blog post. "We're excited to be part of this celebratory night for so many people around the world, and proud of our role in ensuring safe, reliable rides during a time when impaired driving rates are at their highest."
In a message to customers, the ride service told customers that San Francisco fares could cost more than $100 a ride during the previously mentioned peak hours.
Lyft hasn't sent out any messages to customers but it also expects demand/pricing to be at its highest sometime "after the ball drops" until around 2 or 3 a.m. Thursday, company spokeswoman Paige Thelen told the Los Angeles Times.
The company spokeswoman added that Lyft's usual peak-time price increase is capped at 200 percent of the fare. That cap has been raised to 400 percent for Thursday night however.
"So a $10 fare would be a $50 ride," Thelen said.
Riders are advised to carefully consider the cost of any ride before asking a driver to arrive, and to check a "notify me if surge ends" button on its app throughout the night.
Uber and Lyft both allow riders to share rides with friends (or strangers), which would allow you to save some money as well.
Of course, the best way to avoid high rates is finding someone that owns a car and designate a driver to bring you home. That's easier said than done, especially in big cities where roads will be closed for New Year's Eve celebrations.
From all of us at AutoWorldNews, have a Happy New Year, and keep safe tonight.
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