Ride- hailing app Uber is now leveraging on comfort to eat into PSV business as it introduces ride sharing option in Kenya.
While targeting office workers, the company will from September 19 allow passengers going to the same direction to share a ride.
The ChapChap Share option will be available from 5AM to 6PM and is anticipated to help customers save up to 30 per cent on trip fares, when a rider is paired with a co-rider.
If you requests for the Chapchap share option from Thika Road to Westlands, you have a chance of getting a discounted ride if the driver picks up other riders headed to same direction.
The hailing company is counting on this new service to help increase demand for drivers.
This is especially crucial after Uber Kenya announced plans to hike fares in order to factor fuel price increase.
With the government mulling to scrap the existing subsidy, fuel prices are likely to hit record high in the country.
Petrol, Kerosene and Diesel prices have been maintained at Sh159.12, Sh127.94 and Sh140.00 respectively for three months in a row under the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) cushion.
The sharing option will allow for up to six people as Uber Kenya also announced the availability of Uber XL in Nairobi.
Imran Manji, Head of East Africa said the larger vehicle option targets groups making airport trips and those headed for business trips.
"We are passionate about helping people travel and discover their city with ease and helping drivers increase earning opportunities," Manji said.
Uber began testing the sharing option in Kenya back in October 2021 with intention to roll out the low-cost service to Ghana and Nigeria.
The new service, being introduced for the first time in Africa, is similar to UberPool launched in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2014 and later introduced in multiple cities across the world.
The service was suspended in many regions including the U.S. and Canada due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Even so, unlike the Kenyan version, in UberPool passengers have a chance to negotiate a specific carpool rate for the rider regardless of who else gets into the vehicle.
Uber is currently present in eight countries in Africa including South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast Uganda and Tanzania.
