Ride-hailing company Gett is asking New Yorkers to root for the underdog.
In a ride-sharing market dominated by Uber, and to a lesser extent by Lyft, Gett will be offering New Yorkers free ride credits equal to what they paid in surge fees to competitors.
Beginning Nov. 10, riders can submit multiple receipts from either Uber or Lyft up to an aggregate total of $100 in free Gett credit, which will be rounded up in $5 increments. For example, a rider who submitted a receipt of $80.64 will get $85 in redeemable Gett credit.
This move comes as part of Gett's Surge Sucks program, which aims to provide surge-pricing-free rides to New Yorkers. This isn't the first time Gett has gone after Uber for their pricing system; last April, Gett banned surge pricing throughout Manhattan. The taxi company also heavily promotes its $10 rides offer for anywhere from Battery Park to 110th Street.
Source: Gett Facebook page
"In this huge market, you have Uber, who is the big player right now and by definition it's not competitive. When you have only one player in the market, you're really paying extra," CEO Shahar Waiser told CNBC earlier this year. "Once you have an underdog who is offering an alternative, that is when everyone wins: the drivers, the consumers and the company."
For a year now, the New York City Council has been debating legislation over whether for-hire vehicles should be allowed to charge excessive, or "surge," rates. If the bill were to pass, the driver of a for-hire vehicle would not be allowed to charge more than 100 percent above its normal range of prices.
In a video posted to its YouTube page, Uber said that its dynamic pricing system allows the company to increase reliability for their users. When the demand for rides outnumbers the number of drivers on the road, prices go up proportionately to encourage more drivers to go online. Furthermore, the video states that Uber provides fare estimates upfront and that riders are always notified of surge pricing. When the surge price is more than double a normal rate, users are asked to type in the rate themselves to confirm their decision to ride.
Uber declined CNBC's request for further comment.