Pakistan Uber Launch Imminent?

[RiazHaq]

Haq's Musings: Uber Planning Pakistan Launch?

Uber, the rapidly growing San Francisco based behemoth known for its taxi app, appears to be getting ready to launch its service in Lahore, Pakistan, according to media reports.

A report in Tech In Asia points to the career page on Uber website that shows openings for “general manager”, “operations and logistics manager”, and a “marketing manager,” for Lahore, Pakistan's second-largest city.

In fact, Uber has confirmed its plans to launch in Pakistan soon, according toTechJuice.

“We can confirm we are currently recruiting for a team in Lahore, and are very excited about launching in Pakistan as we see huge potential in the way we can help people move around their city safely and reliably,” said Shaden Abdellatif, communications manager for Uber’s Middle East and Africa operations told TechJuice. “We are also excited about the opportunity for economic empowerment we can bring to the drivers we partner with.”




It makes sense given the size of the Pakistan's expanding urban middle class with its fast growing mobile broadband subscriptions combined with rising smartphone sales in the country.

Pakistanis are signing up for 3G and 4G services at a rate of 1 to 2 million new subscriptions a month. In September 2015 alone, Pakistan Telecom Authority reported 2.22 million new 3G and 4G subscriptions in the country. There's corresponding increase in demand for smartphones.




With over 18 million smartphones and mobile broadband subscriptions, Pakistan is ripe for a whole range of new businesses from e-commerce to gaming to various online services like Uber that are accessed through smartphone apps.

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Haq's Musings: Uber Planning Pakistan Launch?

 

[silent hawk]

AoA

Improvement in FDI. Thanks to Nawaz Govt.

Regards

 

[RiazHaq]

New #California Law lets state workers use #SanFrancisco based #Uber and #Airbnb for business travel Law lets state workers use Uber and Airbnb for business travel - LA Times

de-sharing services like Uber and short-term home rentals like Airbnb may get a boost in business now that the state of California has made it clear that its employees can turn to such businesses when traveling for work.

Legislation written by Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar) and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown this month ensures that the state’s 228,000 employees will be reimbursed for the cost of using the sharing-economy businesses for business travel. The legislation takes effect in January.

State law has so far been silent on whether state employees would be reimbursed for using such services, Chang said.

The lawmaker said she hopes the new law will save the state on travel costs. Over the last three years, the state reimbursed employees nearly $110 million in travel costs.

Representatives for Chang said the amount of the savings will depend on how much workers rely on Uber, Airbnb and other sharing-economy services. But they noted that some short-term home rental businesses can cut the cost of lodging by up to half compared to hotels.

 

[RiazHaq]

Online taxi giant #Uber aims to launch in #Pakistan by end of 2015 Online taxi giant Uber aims to launch in Pakistan by end of 2015| Reuters via @Reuters

Online taxi-hailing service Uber will launch in Pakistan by the end of the year, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday, part of an aggressive push targeting megacities in the Asia Pacific region.

Undeterred by the failure of other online taxi-hailing ventures in Pakistan, Uber's career page advertised three top manager positions in the eastern city of Lahore this week.

The company hopes Pakistan's launch of 3G and 4G telecommunication services last year will galvanism business.

Fourteen percent of Pakistan's population of 190 million has access to the Internet and 73 percent to mobile phones, the country's telecommunications authority says.

“We want to launch by the end of the year or at the latest by early next year,” Shaden Abdellatif, Uber’s head of communications for the Middle East and Africa, told Reuters.

“We will put together a team in Lahore within the next couple of months,” she said, referring to Pakistan’s second largest city where the service will first be launched.

Uber Technologies Inc, currently valued at over $50 billion, uses a free GPS-enabled app to link drivers from private car companies to passengers at cheaper rates and promises a quicker response time - often within 10 minutes.

The company, founded in 2009, has expanded more quickly globally than any company in history and is operating in 300 cities in over 60 countries.

GLOBAL BRAND, LOCAL ADJUSTMENTS

The Pakistan launch of Uber comes after other taxi-hailing ventures, such as German ecommerce investor Rocket Internet’s Easy Taxi app, have failed to penetrate the market. But Uber hopes its brand will attract business.

“What we are bringing to Pakistan is our brand and more than that, the experience of our brand around the world,” Abdellatif said.

Uber usually uses credit cards or other electronic payment methods to charge customers but the company plans to develop new products and payment solutions for Pakistan, where credit cards are much rarer than Internet connections.

The safety of both passengers and drivers will also be a major challenge in a country with high crime rates and an intractable Taliban insurgency.

In neighboring India, the government temporarily banned Uber after an Uber driver was accused of rape.

The company says all Pakistan drivers will go through a rigorous screening process and background checks, while the app itself will send riders the driver's name, photo and car license plate and allow them to share their route with family or friends.

“In some markets, we've worked with local authorities to integrate additional safety measures,” Abdellatif said.

“We'll explore all options in Pakistan to ensure riders and drivers have the smoothest and safest Uber experience possible.”

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Rape and theives now only need Uber to find victims

 

[The Sandman]

Well awesome news but what about cars i mean what cars they will use? :/

 

[VCheng]

Well awesome news but what about cars i mean what cars they will use? :/

Chitti Krolla Toodee. Of course, what else? May be Mehran?

 

[baqai]

rozee.pk team is behind this project i believe

 

[The Sandman]

Chitti Krolla Toodee. Of course, what else? May be Mehran?

Sigh well i hope they will use corolla or city

 

[Hurter]

Uber will not be successful in Pakistan.

 

[Kambojaric]

Uber will not be successful in Pakistan.

Any specific reason why you say that?

 

[Hurter]

Any specific reason why you say that?

Gut feeling

 

[Kambojaric]

Gut feeling

Mine says otherwise. Lahore has amongst the best roads in the nation and in the subcontinent as well. If Uber can be successful next door in a nation where the majority of the inhabitants fall in the same socio-economic class as most Pakistanis, then I dont see why we shouldnt be optimistic about Ubers success in Pakistan.

 

[45'22']

Mine says otherwise. Lahore has amongst the best roads in the nation and in the subcontinent as well. If Uber can be successful next door in a nation where the majority of the inhabitants fall in the same socio-economic class as most Pakistanis, then I dont see why we shouldnt be optimistic about Ubers success in Pakistan.

Whats the population of lahore?

 

[Muhammad Omar]

Whats the population of lahore?

More then 10 million