Uber has today announced a range of new products, updates, and features focused on travel, safety, and delivery across Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria.
General Manager for Uber SSA, Kagiso Khaole adds, “Our aspiration is to move more people and goods to more cities, innovate new features and products, raise the bar on safety, explore categories beyond the food category and grow earnings opportunities.”
Taking the Uber experience into new cities
Uber is announcing its expansion into Owerri and Akure, now making Uber available in 11 cities in Nigeria and 18 cities across West Africa. These expansions signal more access to earning opportunities for drivers and affordable, convenient, and reliable mobility solutions for riders, at the tap of a button.
New product innovations
To help reduce costs for riders and increase demand for drivers, Uber is launching UberX Saver in Port Harcourt.
UberX Saver provides an avenue for drivers to earn more by raising the chances of trips even during off-peak times, so that they do not need to stop driving during less busy times.
After a successful rollout of Uber Connect in other markets in Sub-Saharan Africa including Lagos, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa, Uber is excited to announce that users in Port Harcourt and Ibadan will soon be able to send parcels and goods from one consumer or small business to another.
Tope Akinwumi, Country Manager for Uber Nigeria says, “We are committed to Nigeria, which is a key contributor to the growth of our business in Sub-Saharan Africa. We’re passionate about helping people move and discover their city with ease and helping drivers increase earning opportunities.”
Taking a stand on safety
As ridesharing becomes a way of life for more people, Uber never stops raising the bar on safety and has a range of features that take advantage of the latest smartphone technology to ensure that riders and drivers feel safe.
Uber is announcing a collaboration with Sety to provide users with emergency assistance if required on a trip. Drivers and riders will have access to a vetted private security response unit, which is closest to their location, using a connected device.
Tope adds: “Our commitment to safety goes beyond the app. This is the reason we have partnered with Sety to provide on-demand security and medical responses.
Based on research, most riders seem to be unaware of the safety features available to them.. As a result, Uber is launching Safety Check-up across SSA which will encourage riders to complete their safety profile by turning on and utilising the available features such as Trusted Contacts, PIN verification and RideCheck.
