NEW YORK — Uber isn't the only on-demand car service slashing its prices in the city.
Days after the company alerted users that it had reduced fares for some of its vehicles on Jan. 28, Lyft announced that it's also on the rate-cutting bandwagon.
On Feb. 1, Lyft sent an email to its users saying that, for a limited time, rides through its service will cost 15% less.
According to its site, base charges are $2.50 and the cost per minute and mile are 35 cents and $1.79, respectively. The company also announced that rates for its ride-share service, Line, had fallen as well.
For comparison's sake, Uber's base charge in the city is now $2.55 and per-minute and mile rates are 35 cents and $1.75, according to the site.
When translated to actual transit, a 15 percent cut means Lyft riders traveling from DUMBO to LaGuardia Airport will pay $25 instead of $30, the company wrote in an email.
In anticipation of the price changes, on Jan. 29 Lyft sent an email to drivers saying that while "no driver likes a price change...with recent price changes from the competition, we need to take action."
When asked if the company's decision was popular among its drivers — which Uber's decision very much wasn't — a company spokeswoman praised its existing driver incentive programs that Uber lacks.
"Lyft is the only ridesharing platform that offers tipping and the opportunity for drivers to earn back some of the commission we take through the Power Driver Bonus," spokesperson Paige Thelen told DNAinfo New York in an e-mail.
This isn't the first time Lyft has gone tit-for-tat with Uber. When Uber announced that it would be cutting fares in 80 North American cities starting Jan. 9, Lyft reported on its blog that it, too, would lower its rates starting Jan. 15.
Lyft said in the message that it reduced its prices to help riders "keep their New Year's resolutions," but was a little more candid in an interview with VentureBeat.
"Lowering the prices is necessary to stay competitive," a Lyft spokesman said.
"With Uber price changes, we had to protect the ridership and the long-term earnings of our drivers."