Ride-hailing app Uber has hit a huge milestone since venturing into the African market. The company announced that it had hit 10 billion trips since entering the market less than ten years ago. The company recorded 10 billion kilometres of trips on the continent despite the stiff competition in the sector.
Uber was the first ride-hailing app to set up shop in Kenya in 2016. Since then, many more players have entered the market. This includes Bolt, InDriver, Have, Mondo Ride, and Wasili which focuses on providing trips outside of Nairobi.
The companies faced a number of teething problems and are to date riddled with court cases and frequent strikes from drivers who feel that their income is lower compared to the prevailing economic conditions.
Read: Uber Suspends Operations in Tanzania over Unfavourable Gov’t Regulations
“The services fee or the commission is the difficult thing for us to change because that is what we need to run the business,” Frans Hiemstra, Uber’s general manager for Sub-Saharan Africa said.
South African Uber drivers also took to the streets demanding that the commission rates are lowered to 10% across the board for all e-hailing services, claiming that it is making it difficult for them to make a profit in the face of rising fuel prices and other vehicle maintenance costs.
Uber has integrated a number of additional features including a PIN to authenticate rides and ride-sharing for safety purposes. The company has also introduced a number of categories to cater to different clients including its latest feature dubbed “Connect” which allows clients to send and receive packages across the city.
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