This archive report was first published on 9 September 2019.
Uber Bus Expands to Lagos, Nigeria ¶
Uber Bus, first launched in Cairo, Egypt in December 2018, is set to expand to Lagos, Nigeria, marking a significant move in the pan-African expansion of the service.
According to Alon Lits, Uber's general manager for sub-Saharan Africa, the bus service will be a game-changer for Lagos and is much needed. It is a longer-term engagement but one that Uber is willing to undertake.
Uber Bus will be a direct competition to Careem Bus, which is MENA's Uber subsidiary and former competitor. In Lagos, Uber Bus will take on SWVL, Opay's OBus, Gona, Max, Gokada, Little, and Bolt, among others.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, Lits said, “I think the bus will prove to be a game-changer for Lagos and is obviously very much needed. It is a longer-term engagement but it is something we are willing to do and I think grateful for the willingness on the other side.”
Uber is expected to partner with Lagos Bus Services, a Lagos state government company launched earlier this year by President Muhammad Buhari under the Lagos Bus Reform Project (LBRP). The service will have 800 buses on 5 routes across Lagos, providing a reliable and regulated transportation system.
Users in Lagos will be able to request a ride through the app, book a seat, and then join other passengers traveling in the same direction at an affordable price. Uber Bus makes sure that the passengers are going to the same destination, reducing stops on the way and saving time.
According to Eoin O'Mahony, Head of Matching Science at Uber, “Informal bus networks of 15-20 seater vehicles are one of the most popular forms of transportation in developing markets. An estimated 700 million trips a week happen on these informal bus networks, which is 10x bigger than the current global number of weekly trips on Uber. Uber Bus has the potential to unlock a new global business for Uber, serving the $100B, 100 billion annual rides ultra-low-cost transit market for high capacity vehicles.”
