Uber has today announced new products, updates, and features focused on travel, safety and delivery in Kenya.
Uber has announced its expansion into four new cities in Kenya; Eldoret, Nakuru, Naivasha and Kisumu. This makes Uber available in eight cities across East Africa, which means more drivers have access to earning opportunities and more riders an affordable, convenient, and reliable travel solution throughout the region, at the tap of a button.
New product innovations
Travelling across the city with an entire crew has never been easier, with the launch of UberXL in Nairobi, Kenya. This option provides seating for up to 6 people and extra luggage and is great for airport trips and even for groups who are making a business trip.
To help reduce costs for riders and increase demand for drivers, Uber is rolling out ChapChap Share, a shared rides option that gives up to 30% of savings on trip fares, when a rider is paired with a co-rider.
Imran Manji, Head of East Africa explains: “We are committed to East Africa, a key contributor to the growth of our business in Sub-Saharan Africa. We’re passionate about helping people travel and discover their city with ease and helping drivers increase earning opportunities.”
Commitment to safety
As ridesharing becomes a way of life for more people, Uber never stops raising the bar on safety and is rolling out a new safety feature, Safety Check Up.
Based on research, most riders seem to be unaware of the safety features available to them which contribute to a lack of confidence in the safety of the app. As a result, Uber is launching Safety Check-up across SSA which will encourage riders to complete their safety profile by turning on and utilising the available features such as Trusted Contacts, PIN verification and RideCheck.
Delivery innovations
Uber Eats continues to push beyond boundaries with the adoption of the growing trend of dark stores, which gives non-traditional merchants opportunities to tap into unchartered markets that they wouldn’t have easily accessed.
Kui Mbugua, General Manager for Uber Eats Kenya says, ‘With a 67% year on year growth of subscriptions on Eats, we are humbled and encouraged by the expansion that we have seen in South Africa and Kenya.
Uber Eats is rolling out new features across Sub-Saharan Africa such as Item Replacements, which allows consumers to choose the next best item if the original item is out of stock and Safety Age Verification for customers to scan their IDs to confirm they are of legal age to purchase alcohol and pharmacy items. Below is an overview of the suite of products to be launched on Uber Eats in SSA.
| NEW PRODUCT FEATURES OVERVIEW | |
| Feature | Description |
| Item Replacements | This allows consumers to select the next available item on the app if their preferred item is out of stock. The feature also allows for refund, if preferred. |
| Item Score Availability | Indicates if an item is likely to be out of stock soon so customers have the option to purchase another, similar item, that is more likely to be in-stock. |
| Vertical Landing Pages | An in-app landing page that enables customers to easily find, reorder and discover the supermarket items they love. |
| Reliable Scheduling | Makes placing and modifying scheduled orders intuitive and seamless across the end to end ordering process |
| Price Item by Weight | Enables the listing (and purchase) of items like fresh produce, meats, and prepared foods priced by weight for better order accuracy. |
| Safety Age Verification | A quick and reliable ID barcode scanner to verify if the consumer is of legal age to purchase alcohol or restricted pharmacy items. |
The delivery marketplace is a sunrise industry with the potential for massive development and expansion across the continent, with the potential to reach over 30 million people with Uber Eats’ unique technology-driven delivery services.