Newly legalised Uber will be offering its service on New Year’s Eve but at a premium price.

According to Uber Australia, prices will soar on that night to cope up with the demand. Moreover, prices will be raised to encourage more drivers to stay on the road, which will in turn help many who would be requiring the service that night. The fares are set to rise by 2.5 to 3.5 times higher than the normal price.

Uber Australia’s General Manager David Rohrsheim believes that increased pay will incentivise drivers to ditch partying and help more people on the road to get back home.

“Getting drivers out there is our priority, higher fares mean more people will get home. We want part-timers to help out over the new year period through our UberX service,” Rohrsheim said, reports Sydney Morning Herald.

UberX is the most frequently used option of the service, where drivers pick up fares in their own vehicles. It was legalised early December in New South Wales (NSW) and ACT. It will also be legalised in Western Australia by July 2016. The state government, in order to fund a compensation package for taxi drivers worth $250 million and legalise UberX, announced a temporary $1 levy on ride-sharing services and taxi.

Party-goers will see the maximum surge in pricing during the 12:30 am to 4 am period on New Year. Last year on New Year’s Eve, Uber faced a lot of criticism as some people had to pay nearly $100 for a short trip, reports 9News.com.au. Uber also added a $25 booking fee without warning to its passengers.

However, Rohrsheim defended the increase in pricing strategy and said that he believes there won’t be many problems this year as people are now more aware of Uber’s way of operating than they were last year. He added that the company is totally being upfront in terms of dynamic pricing and warned individuals to plan accordingly.

“My hot tip would be to book an Uber at 11.59 and lock it in before the rush, which causes prices to rise. We send reminder text message when fares are back to normal. We also have an option allowing passengers to send an invitation to split the fare with four people,” he said.

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