Uber has announced that it has completed 1 billion rides across all its markets in Africa. This feat translates to over 10 billion kilometers in terms of distance covered.
The milestone comes nearly a decade after the mobility tech company set up shop on the continent in Johannesburg, South Africa. It has since then established a presence in seven other African countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ivory Coast.
Uber expanded to over 30 cities across its major markets within the past year: Twenty-one in South Africa, four cities each in Kenya and Nigeria, and two in Ghana.
The company’s growth has also included expanding Uber Eats, its food-delivery arm across a few South African cities and Nairobi, Kenya. Uber Eats launched in 2016 in South Africa with just 1,000 restaurants. Now, it serves over 8,000 merchants across 36 cities in South Africa and Kenya.
The statement by the company also highlighted that Uber and Uber Eats have collectively reached over 30 million riders and eaters in sub-Saharan Africa. As of 2017, the company services reached under 2 million riders.
Lorraine Onduru, Uber Head of Communications for East and West Africa, had this to say, “Since entering the market in 2013, we have created over 6 million economic opportunities in over 50 cities across SSA that we are present in.”
Other highlights of the report includes;
- The most popular time users requests Uber rides is 2 p.m.
- The most popular day users requests Uber rides is on Friday.
- The most popular drop-off destination is the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.
- The most popular ride option is UberX (from a list that includes Uber Go, Uber Moto, Uber Boda and Uber Poa).
- The average trip time recorded on Uber is 24 minutes, and the longest recorded trip was over 492 km.