Uber, a rival service that employs regular taxi drivers, has responded by launching in the same cities in an effort to undercut the competition. But Uber has taken it one step further and is offering free rides in St. Paul and Indianapolis for free through the end of September. We first saw the news on PandoDaily.
The free Uber service comes from Uber X, a cheaper version of Uber's premium service. Uber X drivers mostly use normal sedans, not fancy black cars.
Uber can afford it. It recently raised a $258 million round of funding from Google Ventures and is valued at $3.4 billion.