Uber Technologies Inc. announced yesterday that it is shutting down its ride-hailing app operations in Karachi, Multan, Faisalabad, Peshawar, and Islamabad from October 11, 2022.
The company said in a statement: “Uber remains committed to Pakistan, and we will continue to serve these five cities with our subsidiary brand Careem and continue to operate Uber app in Lahore.”
The company further said it will continue to offer services in Lahore with new product launches to “support earnings during these difficult times.” As per the experts, the company has taken the step amid growing competition and record inflation.
Careem Will Continue to Operate
Uber’s subsidiary Careem will continue to operate in 11 cities across Pakistan, including ones where Uber has shut down its services. Uber acquired Careem in 2019 at the cost of $3.1 billion. At the time of the acquisition, Uber vowed to run both apps simultaneously, an assertion seen with doubts by most sector analysts.
Since the merger, it has been evident that both apps are hard to run together as the service quality has decreased in the last couple of years. With the launch of new apps, especially InDriver (now InDrive) and Bykea, the company has been facing serious competition as many users started using these new apps.
With time, the fare rate also started to increase compared to the new apps, hence Uber’s downfall. As per experts, Uber has retained Lahore because it is a leading position there, and it is still a profitable market for them.
As per numbers on Data Darbar, a website that tracks investment flows into Pakistan, InDrive has acquired the ride-hailing market’s driving seat without any physical presence. The website shows that the InDrive app downloads are almost twice the downloads of Careem in Pakistan.
What do you think about Uber’s decision? Do you think it is a good decision? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
