Internet ride-sharing service Uber is exploring expansion out of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban into smaller South African cities.<\/p>\n
This is according to Uber head of sub-Saharan Africa Alon Lits.<\/p>\n
Uber launched in South Africa in 2013, but to date the service is not available in cities such as Bloemfontein or Port Elizabeth.<\/p>\n
“So, we do remain focused on our core market,\u201d Lits told Fin24.<\/p>\n
“That being said, as a company we say internally that we want to be in every city globally with a population of more than 200,000 people.<\/p>\n
“So, if you think about that and the composition that South Africa has, there’s definitely opportunity beyond our core market and we are exploring that,\u201d Lits added.<\/p>\n
According to census data from 2011, the Eastern Cape\u2019s Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City metropolitan areas each respectively have populations of 1 152 115 and 755 200.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mangaung in the Free State has a population of 747,431.<\/p>\n
African expansion<\/strong><\/p>\n Growth for Uber has been strong in South Africa as the company notched up 2 million rides locally in the first half of this year.<\/p>\n But Uber\u2019s Lits is also looking north.<\/p>\n The company already operates in Kenya\u2019s Nairobi and Nigeria\u2019s Lagos.<\/p>\n Lagos, for example, has an estimated population of 20 million – five times larger than that of Johannesburg.<\/p>\n Bloomberg also reported this week that Uber is looking to sign a deal with car-maker Kia in Nigeria to help make vehicles more affordable for partner-drivers in that country.<\/p>\n “There’s a huge market opportunity there,” Lits told Fin24.<\/p>\n However, at this stage Lits said there are no plans to expand into other African countries although the company is eyeing opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that there are a number of really larger opportunities across the continent,\u201d Lits told Fin24.<\/p>\n Uber wants to change SA\u2019s transport laws<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Should we love Uber and Airbnb \u2013 or should we kick them to the curb?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Unregistered Uber taxis in Gauteng will be impounded<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nFin24<\/a><\/h3>\n
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