Uber Launches New Product and Safety Features

 

By Fred Felton | Sep. 14, 2022

Uber recently announced the launch of new product and safety features which will be live across various locations in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), these features will be available in South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Côte d’Ivorie and Nigeria.

Kagiso Khaole, GM for Uber SSA. | Photo: Uber

‘’As we gear ourselves to mark our 10^th year anniversary next year, we are excited about moving into more cities enabling people to go anywhere and can get anything. Our commitment to raising the bar on safety remains relentless and we continue to work hard to grow the over 3 million earnings opportunities we have created thus far,’’ said General Manager for Uber SSA, Kagiso Khaole.

Uber will now be operational in 8 new cities; these include Owerri and Akure in Nigeria, Eldoret, Kisumu, Nakuru and Naivasha in Kenya and Tamale and Sunyani in Ghana.

As a way to help reduce expenses for riders and increase the demand for drivers, Uber is launching UberX Share in Ghana and Nigeria and Uber ChapChap Share in Kenya. Shared rides allow riders to save up to 30% of the trip fare when matched with a co-rider heading in the same direction and where a match is not possible, they will still be able to save 5% from the ride.

Group travel will also be introduced and with the launch of UberXL in Nairobi, Kenya, riders can now travel as a group with up to six people which is ideal for airport and business trips. In South Africa, riders can now reserve their group travel 30 days in advance with UberXL Reserve and Uber Van Reserve.

Uber Connect allows you to deliver parcels. | Photo: Uber

Uber Comfort will now also be available in Ghana and Uber Connect will soon be available in two additional cities in Nigeria. Uber Connect allows you to deliver parcels and the feature comes built-in with a PIN verification providing users security knowing that their package will be delivered to the correct person.

Uber has also taken the needs of riders into account by releasing new safety features.

‘’Safety is at the core of how we do business and we are proud to announce three new safety features to help improve the experience of users,’’ said Khaole.

These features include Audio Recording which will be tested in South Africa. This will allow riders and drivers to use the app to record and share audio of their trip as evidence in the case of a safety incident. This feature is being piloted in Pretoria and Johannesburg and will be rolled out into the rest of South Africa in Q4 2022.

Another safety feature being rolled out is In-app emergency service in Nigeria. Uber has partnered with Sety to provide on-demand security and medical response for riders and drivers. This will also provide access to a private security response unit.

The other safety feature released is Safety Check Up which will be released across SSA. This feature encourages riders to complete their safety profile and use features such as Trusted Contacts, PIN verification and RideCheck.

There will also be other innovations to look out for from Uber.

These include delivery innovations for Uber Eats by creating a virtual mall experience that goes beyond just food.

Uber Eats expanding. | Photo: Uber

‘’Other categories we have ventured into include convenience stores, pharmacy outlets, alcohol and retail and this shows us that the possibilities are endless,’’ says Cikida Gcali-Mabusela, Head of New Verticals for Uber Eats Sub-Saharan Africa.

Uber Eats has also adopted the growing trend of dark stores, which gives non-traditional merchants opportunities to tap into unchartered markets that they wouldn’t have easily accessed.

You can find Uber Eats in South Africa and Kenya currently. ‘’With a 67% year on year growth of subscriptions on Eats, we are humbled and encouraged by expansion that we have seen in the South Africa and Kenya markets,’’ said Kui Mbugua, General Manager for Uber Eats Kenya.

‘’The future of logistics and technology in emerging markets looks promising,’’ noted Kui Mbugua.

Uber is also looking to expand into other African countries.

‘’Expansion into other African markets is on the cards,’’ said Kagiso Khaole, General Manager for Uber SSA.

Uber also released some interesting stats about their business.

This year Uber completed its 1 billionth trip in Africa.

The most popular drop-off destination in Africa is OR Tambo International Airport.

The number one grocery item on Uber Eats is Albany Bread.

The largest order placed on Uber Eats was for R16 000.

The most searched for item on Uber Eats is Pizza.