[pyk]

I would guess that this was an easier-to-market way to sell the user on an unfortunate price increase. I would imagine no one would disagree that they want a safe ride, and for Uber I am sure that indeed it will support newly discovered costs of doing business... so they might be right to sell it this way.

The fact that it was released on a Friday before an Easter Holiday weekend might support the theory that it's just simply a "bad news" price increase [1].

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/26/nyregion/in-announcing-unf...