San Francisco-based Uber Technologies Inc. announced its acquisition of Hong Kong ride-hailing competitor FlyTaxi on Tuesday. Company executives praised the merger as a vital step toward freeing commuters from the exhausting burden of comparing fares across multiple apps.
The buyout, first reported by Sing Tao Daily, secures Uber’s total dominance over the Hong Kong transportation market. Analysts note the move is part of the company's broader global strategy to innovate the gig economy by simply purchasing anyone else who knows how to operate a digital map and a payment gateway.
We realized that the most frictionless user experience is one where the customer literally has nowhere else to go.
By absorbing FlyTaxi’s drivers and user base, Uber will immediately implement its signature surge pricing model across the entire territory. Commuters in the densely populated financial hub can now look forward to paying a unified, inescapable 400% premium to cross Victoria Harbour the moment a single drop of rain hits the pavement.