Uber offers free rides with uberX and uberTAXI for rest of the day till midnight

SINGAPORE - There may be no free lunch in this world, but for today until midnight, car-sharing service Uber Technologies is offering commuters a free ride. Or even two.

It had announced on its Facebook page that each passenger using its apps uberX and uberTaxi can get two free rides up to midnight. But those who cancel their bookings will have to pay a cancellation fee of $6 for uberX and $2 for uberTaxi.

Some satisfied customers praised the initiative on Facebook but a fair number also complained that no taxis and cars were available when they tried the app this morning.

This marked the latest promotion rolled out here by Uber, which had offered a 25 per cent discount for users last month.

Uber started operations here last year in an increasingly crowded taxi app market, joining competitors Easy Taxi and GrabTaxi. The San Francisco-based company has sparked controversy in countries such as the United States and Britain over the impact of its services on licensed taxi drivers and concerns over a lack of regulation.

Last month, about 10 Singapore drivers had turned up at Uber's River Valley office to voice their unhappiness with fee changes.

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