Call it the Uber effect. Taxi prices have dropped across the globe, according to Deutsche Bank’s annual “Mapping the World’s Prices” report.

“There are signs that perhaps Uber is making its mark on the world as taxi prices in many places are falling sharply,” Deutsche Bank strategists Jim Reid and Sukanto Chanda said in the research. Charges fell by 30 percent in San Francisco — more than anywhere in the developed world — since last year.

Uber Technologies Inc.’s ride-hailing app, which allows passengers to summon cabs by smartphone, has upended traditional taxi business models and led to large-scale strikes in cities including Paris.

Deutsche Bank also included a “cheap date” index in its report and found Zurich, Copenhagen and Tokyo are the most expensive cities in which to “woo a partner.” London dropped by two places, taking it out of the top five most expensive cities for romantic excursions.

“For those wanting a real cheap ‘cheap date’,” the Deutsche Bank analysts wrote, “India, Indonesia, the Philippines and South Africa are the places to go.” Read more….

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-19/uber-effect-sees-taxi-fares-tank-around-the-world-deutsche-says

Download the study here: http://pull.db-gmresearch.com/cgi-bin/pull/DocPull/29008-4E2D/76628919DB_SpecialReport_2016-05-19_GDPBD00000294242.pdf

• Deutsche Bank notices a drop of 30%: but isn’t the study mixing up taxis and private hire – particularly in London?