Due to the significant rise in prices, Uber is facing complaints in the Middle East, primarily in Dubai, where tourists are flooding in after the country’s recovery from COVID-19 and because of Expo 2020, which was delayed due to the flu pandemic.
To be fair, global oil prices are rising as well which has pushed several sectors’ prices up, such as food, goods, and transportation, not only in Dubai but all over the MENA region.
People in the UAE complain about Uber and Careem’s high prices, which have been raised significantly in the last few months due to Expo 2020 and Dubai attracting many tourists.
Lara Hussein said on LinkedIn that she hadn’t seen such prices since moving to Dubai in 2015 and that even a short trip had become more expensive. “On Sunday 24 October after several attempts to book a Hala car with no availability, I checked the economy option for a very short trip from JLT cluster I to JBR. I get 65 – 82 AED for a trip that would usually cost AED 30 – 35 AED (for economy) and 20 – 25 AED (for Hala)?!”
Lara also added: “On Monday 25 October Today at 7h30pm, for the same trip, she got 40 – 50 AED.” Many people who replied to Lara’s post agreed that prices are high and that they are considering using Dubai Metro or a bicycle when weather permits.
India, Chinese competition
However, the two new ride-hailing services are receiving a lot of attention: the Chinese company “DD” and another application of the Indian company Zoom Car.
Uber owns about 12 percent of the “DD,” making it its second-largest shareholder after SoftBank. The Indian company has announced plans to include 5,000 more vehicles by March 2022.
Saudi Arabia: Huge fine
Saudi Arabia has imposed a $100 million tax bill on Uber and Careem for private transportation..
According to the sources, these claims are linked to a dispute over how to calculate the value-added tax owed over the past few years by “sharing economy” companies and include significant penalties for late payments.
This has affected companies such as Uber, Airbnb, and TaskRabbit, which rely on self-employed drivers, carriers, or hosts, who are located outside the country’s tax limits.
 Uber’s Q2 2021 profitÂ
Uber Technologies’ quarterly revenue and profit exceeded analyst expectations, but its stock fell after the announcement in August 2021.
Earnings per share were 58 cents, compared to a loss of 51 cents predicted by analysts in a Refinitiv poll. Revenue came in at US$ 3.93 billion, compared to the US $3.75 billion forecasts.
Uber reported a US$ 1.1 billion net profit in the second quarter. This is primarily due to unrealized gains in Didi Global of US$ 1.4 billion and Aurora of US$ 471 million. However, Didi’s shares have fallen by about 37 percent in the last month, after the period of business results, and Uber’s operating losses remain at US$ 1.19 billion.
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