Careem has introduced peak pricing phenomenon in Pakistan. It means a temporary increase in the cost of available rides in times of excessive demands.
A few days ago, Uber introduced surge pricing in Lahore to overcome the lack of drivers in peak hours or tough weather conditions. It received a lot of criticism on this policy as it exploits customers by charging high in the hour of need.
Now Careem is following in the footsteps of Uber and is introducing its peak pricing policy for users in Pakistan.
No official word is yet available from Careem Pakistan, however, a help page on peak factor on Careem international’s website reads:
“In order to ensure that we can provide you with the best availability of cars at all times, Peak was introduced. A Peak factor will temporarily increase the cost of available rides during times of excessive demand, which helps increase the supply of available cars in high-demand times and locations.
Any additional costs during Peak will be fully paid to the Captain to encourage them to be available during peak times.”
It looks like Careem will adopt the good policy of paying all the additional costs to the driver in Pakistan too, as it may count towards one of many reasons why such additional costs can make sense.