Uber to launch services in Pakistan from March 3

Lahore, Mar 3: Online taxi giant Uber will offically launch its services here in Pakistan from Thursday. Uber will launch its services from Lahore and then gradually move to Karachi and Islamabad, the taxi giant said in a statement.

"We're extremely excited to be here, there's huge potential in this market and people have welcomed us with open arms," said Loic Amado, international launcher at Uber.

He said Uber had picked Lahore to launch its online service since twenty per cent of all ecommerce transactions happen in Lahore. Amado said Uber was looking forward to filling a gap in the existing transportation network.

All drivers shall be subjected to thorough background and verification checks, including car registration, police verification, and driving licenses. They'll also have to attend a mandatory sexual harassment seminar, Amado said.

"Uber Technologies Inc, currently valued at over USD 50 billion, uses a free GPS-enabled app to link drivers from private car companies to passengers at cheaper rates and promises a quicker response time — often within 10 minutes," he said.

The company, founded in 2009, has expanded globally and is operating in 300 cities in over 60 countries.

PTI