A decade since its launch in South Africa, Uber has reached a number of major milestones and recorded interesting statistics on local riders, drivers, and eaters.
At its 10-year anniversary, the company revealed that the most kilometres ever travelled by a single rider in South Africa were 813.35km, but it couldn’t satisfy our curiosity completely as it did not say where the individual was travelling to.
Other noteworthy facts and figures disclosed included:
- The biggest tip ever given by a rider- R8,816
- The most popular day to travel – Friday
- The most popular time to request a ride – 14h00
- Items that people lose the most – Keys and phones
- The most popular drop-off destination – OR Tambo International Airport
- The top 3 nationalities with the highest number of trips in South Africa – America, UK, and Germany
Uber also noted that it has completed over 2,300 trips to the moon and back, equating to roughly 1.77 billion kilometres driven on South Africa’s roads; and during this time, it has moved as many people as it takes to fill up Soccer City stadium over 78 times (7.39 million people).
“Uber now serves more than 80% of the urban population in close to 30 cities across the country and has enabled more than 1 million economic opportunities in South Africa through its commitment to affordable, accessible, safe, and sustainable transportation,” said Kagiso Khaole, general manager of Uber Sub-Saharan Africa.
Uber Electric Delivery Scooter battery-swapping demonstration
Expanding in South Africa
Uber plans to grow its South African footprint in 2024 with a new electric-vehicle-only service known as Uber Connect, as well as the expansion of several existing ride options to new geographical areas in which they were previously unavailable.
Available in Cape Town from December, Uber Connect will make use of battery-powered delivery scooters that will perform same-day pickup and deliveries within a single region. The rollout will expand to Johannesburg in February 2024.
To eliminate the need for lengthy charging cycles, the two-wheelers will have hot-swappable battery packs that will allow a rider to stop at a battery locker and swap out their depleted power unit for a fully-charged one in under a minute.
Additionally, come 2024, Uber said it will launch Uber Store Pick-Ups, which enables users to book a delivery person to collect any prepaid items from any store.
The company also revealed that 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 across all regions.
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