Uber offers $500 to rival drivers for a single ride

Uber will also give out $500 to any of its drivers who refer someone from a rival service

Uber has a lot of competition out there for drivers. Not only does it have to contend with regular taxi services, but other car sharing ane e-hailing companies like Lyft and Hailo. That competition has even been used as part of the justification for Uber's price surging, as the company argues that drivers could pick another service to work for, so they need an extra incentive.

Well, now Uber has found a new way to lure drivers to its service. Cold, hard, cash. And all for a few hours work.

The e-hailing service will be giving away $500 to any driver from another ridesharing platform who is willing to try out uberX, the company announced in a blog post on Thursday. The best part for those drivers: they only have to do a single ride to get the money.

That might seem a bit foolish; why wouldn't ever single driver try it out that one time for the money? But Uber is confident that those drivers will find the experience so much more rewarding than at any other service that they will come over permanently. 

"There’s never been a better time to drive with Uber. With ever-increasing demand, greater trips per hour, and new cities launching every day, drivers on Uber make more money than with any other ridesharing platform or taxi company. Period," the company wrote.

"We’re so confident in that fact, we’re giving new partners from other ridesharing platforms$500 just to try us out."

Uber also said that it will pay out the same amount to any current Uber driver who refers a driver from a competing service. 

This is not the first time that Uber has tried something like this: late last year it was reported that Uber had begun giving out $50 gas cards to Lyft drivers who came by their offices, along with an additional $500 if they picked up 20 riders by the end of the year. The moves were never officially verified. 

This time, though, it's official and it is a bold move on Uber's part. It is one that will likely annoy its competitors, but also a very smart move as other companies, especially Lyft, seems to be quickly catching up.

Lyft recently raised $250 million, making the most funded ridesharing service with $333 million, compared to Uber, which has $307 million. And while Uber just recently moved into its 100th global city, last week Lyft expand ed to 24 new markets in 24 hours, giving it 60 cities, all in the United States, though it says it will be looking internationall soon as well.

So, it's no wonder why Uber feels the need to poach drivers directly from its competition.

"We’re making a long-term investment in our platform and our partners. Put simply, more drivers help keep Uber the reliable, affordable, convenient platform riders know and love," said Uber.

(Image source: rock.rapgenius.com)