The rideshare aggregator app's research found that the price discrepancy of a ride on New Year's Eve or Day compared to baselines has been dropping every year.

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, December 30, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Americans concerned about enormous rideshare price surges on New Year’s Eve and the hours past midnight may be in the clear, barring freak weather events, according to new analysis from Obi, the global real-time aggregator for rideshare prices. Data from 2022-2024 has shown that the wild price deviations that used to define the end of the holiday season have largely been tempered, likely due to proactive work on behalf of companies like Uber and Lyft.

Pricing variation has steadily declined over the past three years. In 2022, Obi’s research found that a $7.91 variance occurred between the high and low for daily average prices for the major U.S. rideshare companies, Uber and Lyft, during the eight days from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day. In 2023, that dropped to $4.48. By 2024, the pricing discrepancy during the holidays was down to $2.34.

“Historically, the week that encompasses Christmas and New Year’s Day has notably high- and low-volume days for rideshare travel, creating high variability,” said Ashwini Anburajan, CEO of Obi.

“It’s also a week when people have high-priority places to be and want to be able to get there easily, and when there are many people taking rideshares that ordinarily would drive or take public transit,” Anburajan added. “When there’s unexpected surge pricing or long wait times, that can result in mounting customer frustration. So it’s no surprise that it seems Uber and Lyft continue to work hard to mitigate this.”

Obi’s data trove comes from hundreds of thousands of rides booked through its app, which allows rideshare users to compare the prices of all available rideshare services in their area, a utility that can save a regular rideshare user thousands of dollars annually. According to a recent study from the National Bureau of Economic Research, failure to compare prices between Uber and Lyft costs New York City residents alone an estimated $300 million annually.

Christmas Day and New Year’s Day have historically seen spikes in Uber and Lyft pricing, but for different reasons. On Christmas, ride volume is far below baselines and high prices are likely due to low supply, i.e. fewer drivers working that day. Wait times in this period are generally 10% higher than December baselines. On New Year’s Day, pricing ticks up due to high demand – not just from partygoers heading home in the early hours of the morning, but in some cases also to take rideshares to pick up their cars from the night before or to head to football games or viewing parties.

Combined with overall decreases in rideshare prices attributable to lower gas prices, this leveling out of price disparities has also led to cheaper New Year’s Day rides:

- In 2022, the average nationwide price of a ride on New Year’s Day was $33.25 (20.3% above the December baseline price of $27.64).
- In 2023, it was $26.35 (15.8% above the baseline price of $22.75).
- Last year, the entire week’s pricing actually fell below December baselines. The average price of a ride was $19.44 on New Year’s Day, making it fall 10.2% below the baseline price of $21.64.

Not only are prices not surging as much as they used to, the increased volume of rides on New Year’s Day is no longer translating to long wait times: Last year, wait times for an Uber or Lyft on New Year’s Day were virtually identical to December baselines.

“Until very recently, relying on rideshares for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day often required accepting some unpleasant surprises in the form of high prices and long wait times,” Anburajan said. “While there may still be spikes, particularly in the face of unexpected bad weather, rideshare companies have clearly worked hard to ensure that their services are something that New Year’s revelers can rely on.”

Curious to learn more? Read the full report at rideobi.com/newyear2025.

ABOUT OBI
Obi is a global real-time aggregator that compares millions of pricing and pick-up (ETA) data points, providing consumers and businesses with actionable insights. The free Obi app allows riders to compare all the major rideshare providers, taxis and black cars instantly. With over 1,300,000 users, the Obi app is available in over 175 countries, providing global price transparency for riders. The app is available for free download on iOS and Android at rideobi.com.

Caroline McCarthy
Obi
[email protected]

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