Your Next Ride With Careem or Uber Just Got More Expensive…

Your next ride with Careem or Uber is about to get costlier due to VAT. The popular ride-hailing apps have just announced price increases that will impact all customers. Here’s what we know…

Using Careem or Uber will cost you a bit more

“Uber trip fares will increase slightly for all ride options, including uberX, UberSELECT, UberBLACK, UberXL, UberONE and UberVIP in the rides app. In the coming days, you will see these updates reflected in your trip fares,” Uber said in a blog post.

“While transportation is exempt from the 5% VAT, the tax does apply to the marketplace services provided by Uber through the app, which is equivalent to 1.7% of the total trip fare.”

Careem also put out this statement explaining the increase in fares:

“Your ride with Careem will be taxed only on the portion of the fare that is attributable to our marketplace service. This will translate into an average fare increase of 1 per cent,” Careem said.

While the price increases are nominal, your wallet is still going to take a slight hit the next time you book a ride. Is VAT changing the way you spend this year?

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