Citing unfriendly regulatory laws, Uber the popular digital Taxi services is quitting from Tanzania.
The announcement was wired directly to clients via their smartphones and tablets through the downloaded Uber digital applications.
Uber however says it still want to operate in Tanzania and will return once the environment becomes more conducive.
Uber entered Tanzania market in 2016. The Ride-sharing digital Transport platform proved to be popular on spot.
Uber claims that Tanzania’s Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA) is the reason why they were closing shop in the country due to the authority’s ‘price fixing,’ scheme.
But a few weeks ago, another digital Taxi Service, Omega, had started to persuade drivers to enroll onto its yet another ride-sharing platform.
Omega Taxi Service Tanzania pegged it location to Mayfair Plaza along Mwai Kibaki Road in Dar-es-salaam.
Like Uber, Omega will also operate motorcycles and tricycles, alongside cars and vans.
But still many residents of Dar, feel the Uber vacuum will be hard to fill.
“Uber was like having your own dedicated chauffeur,” says John Mallya, a resident of Dar, adding the service could easily substitute owning private car.
Essentially Uber Tanzania used to serve only the country’s commercial city of Dar-es-salaam, where it was quite popular due to its wide range of services, around the clock response, guaranteed safety, coupled with affordable fare pricing.
Uber scared the analogue taxi services and for good reasons too. Many were driven out business with its advancement.
The service used to employ mostly the technological savy youth with private cars that they would enlist on Uber platform.
It therefore comes as shock to the self-employed young drivers, car owners and passengers in the rather transport challenged city of nearly 6 million residents.
Other services currently offering similar services include the In-Driver which operates in the Northern City of Arusha, the less convinient Bolt and Taxify as well as the soon to fill up the Uber Vacuum, the new Omega Taxi, Tanzania, soon to open shop in Dar.
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