Uber launches in Karachi

Users can enjoy up to five free rides till August 28

Ride sharing giant Uber has finally launched in Karachi and is offering five free rides to users till August 28.

“We are thrilled to announce uberGO is now available in Karachi, which means getting around your city has never been easier. You can now request a safe, reliable and affordable ride at the tap of a button,” read a statement on its website. “To celebrate our newest city, you can enjoy Uber for free this weekend, just open your Uber app and enter the promo code ‘KarachiFREE’ to enjoy five free rides up to Rs300 each”.

https://twitter.com/Uber_PKR/status/768705218389405696



Photo: UBER

Uber is offering a minimum fare rate of Rs150 on its go services with a charge of Rs9.38 per kilometer and Rs2 per minute. Uber is also offering a split fare service for users who share a cab. Users can split the fare on multiple credit cards for a single journey.

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In Karachi, uberGO will serve Clifton, Saddar Town, Jamshed Town, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town, Liaqutabad, North Nazimabad, Gulberg Town, Faisal, Malir, Malir Town, and Korangi to start off with.

“Karachi is the seventh largest city in the world and primarily its big population has attracted us to this city. But we also look at transportation system and other infrastructure in place when we enter in to different markets,” Uber Head of Expansion Pakistan, Zohair Yousafi, told The Express Tribune.

Earlier, Yousafi revealed the company is also planning to launch the service in Islamabad after Karachi.

Uber MEA Head of Expansion Loic Amado is confident that the launch of Uber services in Karachi would exceed his expectations.

“The response that we have received from Karachi at our launch has already beaten all our previous records of any other city in the Middle East and Africa region,” Amado said this while talking to The Express Tribune in an interview.

Amna Asim, Uber’s marketing manager for Pakistan, said the company was also considering hiring female drivers. “If females can drive cabs in Cairo then why not in Pakistan,” said Asim. The company has had its share of controversy, but Asim said the company was making the necessary checks to ensure smoother operations.



“Every potential driver must undergo a screening process before they can register with Uber, which requires all necessary documents along with a police verification certificate and a social referral character certificate,” she said.

Photo:Reuters

Uber also stated its sample fares for Karachi with a ride from PAF Museum to BBQ tonight to cost around Rs300 while one from Aga Khan hospital to Jinnah International Airport to cost Rs220.

Earlier this year, Uber launched in Lahore and attracted 65,000 riders and 1,000 active drivers in the month of July. It remains to be seen whether Uber can compete with other ride sharing services such as Careem in the city.

You can download the Uber app here.