Uber celebrated its tenth anniversary in South Africa yesterday (November 7) by announcing the launch of the country’s first electric mobility product, along with several new innovative mobility and delivery products and the expansion of existing features to new locations.

“Our mobility business in South Africa has grown over the past few years, evidenced by expansion to nearly 30 urban areas across the country, and providing independent earning opportunities for over 20 000 earners. That is why Uber is reinforcing its commitment to contribute to seamless mobility and delivery by innovating new ways to help both riders and drivers move smoothly, hassle-free and feel safe on every trip,” said Kagiso Khaole, GM, Uber Sub-Saharan Africa.

The electric vehicles for Uber Package will first be available in Cape Town. The product's launch is a key step in transitioning the Uber Package fleet to be fully electric by 2023 and in achieving Uber’s global target of becoming a zero-emission platform by 2040. 

In addition, it is expanding Uber Van to Cape Town, its luxury rideshare offering Uber Black to Durban, and the addition of Reserve Airport Pickup for its UberX, Uber Comfort, and Uber XL rides. 

Uber Live

Uber Eats announced the launch of Uber Live. This mobile ordering solution puts the Uber Eats pick-up product into the hands of people whether in an airport, sport stadium, concert venue or music festival. 

"We are excited about the launch of Uber Live as we can take the food shopping experience to the next level for attendees at large events such as festivals, concerts or sporting celebrations, eliminating endless queues to allow our users to enjoy the event to the fullest," said Nakampe Molewa, GM, Uber Eats Sub-Saharan Africa.

Empowering customers, communities and cities

A decade since its launch in South Africa, Uber now serves more than 80% of the urban population across the country and has enabled more than one million economic opportunities in South Africa.

“We are excited to be celebrating such a significant milestone by strengthening our commitment to creating economic impact as South Africa’s partner for growth and innovation. In the next decade and beyond, Uber will aim to continue innovating to meet the unique needs of riders, couriers and drivers,” said Khaole.

Khaole told Tourism Update that Uber had a big penetration of UK, US, and German tourists in the country, and that international tourists at coastal cities made up 20% of users in the area.

New safety features

“Please use your seat belt for your safety” – this is a Seat Belt Reminder from an automated voice that passengers will hear when they climb into an Uber. It will also pop-up as a reminder in the app to tell passengers to buckle up, even if they are sitting in the back seat.

The rise of safety and bike lines in areas such as Braamfontein and Cape Town, have led Uber to create Bike Lane Alerts to ensure travellers exit their ride safely.

“If passengers are being dropped off at a bike lane, or near a bike lane, they will receive a notification to look out for cyclists,” said Khaole.

Uber also has a Safety Toolkit, which contains its Community Guidelines – its Code of Conduct which determines the relationship between riders and drivers – which also contains its 24-hour Support system that makes decisions about incidents that might happen on a trip. 

Audio recording was also launched on trips last year, which helps travellers record what transpires in the vehicle.

Pin Verification between riders and drivers, and RideCheck (which detects problems in the vehicle) are other features that make up Uber’s Safety Toolkit.

“These safety nudges start building up a culture where we become a lot more conscious about what we do outside the vehicle and inside the vehicle, and we hope this will make a big dent in terms of public safety and safety while travellers are on the roads,” said Khaole.

Vetting

Uber has a stringent vetting process for its drivers, and every rider needs to have a professional driving permit. The company also conducts government background checks, as well as additional background checks that are adapted to its standards.

Furthermore, Uber conducts annual vehicle inspections and driving assessments of drivers. Uber also receives notifications if there might be something wrong with the vehicle, or when passengers have flagged it.

“There are several checks that we do before a driver is loaded on our platform. There is also training on the platform that includes how to behave with different groups, such as intoxicated passengers, passengers with special needs, and culturally diverse tourist groups,” Khaole said.