Uber and Lyft prices

Uber and Lyft prices have sharply increased along with car rental prices. Waiting times are longer, too.

Prepare to Pay More for Uber and Lyft Rides

Car rental prices

There have been several news stories lately about the high prices of rental cars. CBS News example. Prices are especially high in Hawaii, e.g. $700 per day. Revenues and net income of car rental companies plunged in 2020 due to the pandemic curtailing travel. Many companies suffered big losses and sold off inventory, probably to meet cash needs. With the pandemic's decline and travel demand surging, the supply of rental cars is well below demand. So prices have risen sharply.

While I haven't seen stories about "price gouging", I will not be surprised if I see some.  Of course, accusers will likely conveniently ignore what happened in 2020, and the now high prices are enabling paying interest, adding to inventory, and reducing debt rather than producing windfall profits.