Uber reaches almost 1-million users in South Africa

9th November 2017 By: Irma Venter - Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

Uber reaches almost 1-million users in South Africa

The longest Uber trip on record in sub-Saharan Africa happened in South Africa this year – 3 190 km from Cape Town to Durban, via Bloemfontein.

The electronic ride hailing service does not disclose why the journey was made. The Uber app does, however, provide an estimated cost for the journey, at between R11 000 and R15 000 for the standard service.

Uber started operating in South Africa in 2013, expanding to a number of countries in the rest of the continent.

Uber has since then also launched the UberEATS service in South Africa, which is a meal ordering and delivery platform.

Since 2013, Uber has moved more than 1.8-million riders in the region, with more than 230 000 scheduled trips requested, says Uber sub-Saharan Africa GM Alon Lits.

“We have created more than 29 000 economic opportunities.”

Lits says there are more than 12 000 active Uber drivers in South Africa alone, and 969 000 active riders.

The most popular request time in South Africa is on a Friday at around 18:00. In Kenya it is around 20:00 on a Friday, in Tanzania 19:00 on a Saturday, in Uganda 23:00 on a Friday, in Nigeria 17:00 on a Friday and in Ghana 21:00 on a Friday.

Lits quotes a Morgan Stanley research report that notes that ride-hailing accounted for 4% of all miles driven globally in 2015, which is expected to increase to around 26% by 2030.

Around 10% of millennial Uber riders in the US also say that they have either given up a car, or not bought one.

The research report that notes that cars, on average, operate for only one hour a day, but account for 45% of global oil demand.