The feature, which verifies registered drivers, comes in the wake of reports of some users being attacked, kidnapped and raped by bogus Uber drivers.
Uber has debuted its biometric safety technology in South Africa called Real-time ID.
If proven successful it will be rolled-out to the rest of the continent.
The feature, which verifies registered drivers, comes in the wake of reports of some users being attacked, kidnapped and raped by bogus Uber drivers.
General Manager for Uber Sub-Saharan Africa Alon Lits says they are always looking at enhancing safety.
“We have introduced real-time identity check, which means at random intervals when drivers log on to the application they will be prompted to take a selfie while they use their phone.
This picture that they take will be validated against the picture that we have on file.
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Showing posts with label Alon Lits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alon Lits. Show all posts
Thursday, 23 March 2017
Thursday, 16 June 2016
TANZANIA: Uber Goes To Tanzania
Dar es Salaam has now joined the UBER revolution in East Africa as the latest city after Nairobi, Mombasa and Kampala, where the service was launched just three weeks ago.
This makes good of the promise the company made on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum for Africa, held in Kigali last month, evidence that the local transport industry needs shaking up.
Alon Lits, UBER's General Manager for Sub Saharan Africa, expressed his delight over the latest addition when he said that he was proud to see the company expand so rapidly and so successfully.
It remains to be seen if the web based transport hailing service will also expand to Arusha or Mwanza, Tanzania's second and third largest cities, as in particular Arusha is commonly referred to as East Africa's safari capital and visited by tens of thousands of foreign tourists as they embark on their safaris.
Wednesday, 18 November 2015
SOUTH AFRICA: Uber Wants SA’s Transport Laws Changed
Internet ride-sharing service Uber wants government to formally introduce a category that would cater to transporters who use technology.
On Tuesday, Uber headed to parliament to present its case to the portfolio committee on transport.
Uber briefed the committee on the internet ride-sharing service’s background, business model and the challenges it has faced in South Africa.
“Part of what we’re trying to push for is an amendment to that National Land and Transport Act to introduce a new standalone category,” Uber’s head of sub-Saharan Africa, Alon Lits, said.
Lits explained that Uber, which uses e-hailing technology, doesn’t fit neatly into current categories such as metered taxi or chartered service licences.
Uber therefore wants the National Land and Transport Act to include a category called ‘transport network operator’.
“A transport network operator can be someone who is using technology as lead generation,” Lits said.
Lits explained that a transport network operator licence could also be applied for by other companies and drivers that use technology in the transport space.
Local regulation
Uber’s appearance in parliament this week came after the service has been in the spotlight in South Africa this year.
In June, Uber’s Lits said Cape Town traffic officials have impounded over 200 Uber cars this year because drivers for the internet service did not meet metered taxi permit regulations.
However, the Western Cape government granted over 100 metered taxi licences to Uber drivers in July.
The City of Cape Town said it further plans to introduce an e-hailing bylaw to cater for the likes of Uber, but Lits said that this would be a “short-term solution” because e-hailing is a sub-category of metered taxi regulations.
Gauteng MEC for Transport Ismail Vadi also said in July that Uber must comply with metered taxi requirements in cities such as Johannesburg and Pretoria.
This call came after alleged intimidation from metered taxi drivers towards Uber partners.
Lits said that Uber planned to have more discussions with the province in the light of Vadi’s recent comments.
But the province has yet to provide clarity on what could happen to Uber drivers who previously applied for charter service licences, Lits said.
New Uber drivers in Gauteng, though, are also applying for both charter and metered licences.
“There are some that are applying for charter services and others that are applying for metered taxis,” Lits said.
Cape Town and Johannesburg are not the only cities in the world where Uber has come under pressure from regulators and rival taxi firms.
In South Korea’s Seoul, officials have said the internet ride-sharing service is illegal, while metered taxi drivers in Paris took to burning cars earlier this year to express their anger at Uber.
On Tuesday, Uber headed to parliament to present its case to the portfolio committee on transport.
Uber briefed the committee on the internet ride-sharing service’s background, business model and the challenges it has faced in South Africa.
“Part of what we’re trying to push for is an amendment to that National Land and Transport Act to introduce a new standalone category,” Uber’s head of sub-Saharan Africa, Alon Lits, said.
Lits explained that Uber, which uses e-hailing technology, doesn’t fit neatly into current categories such as metered taxi or chartered service licences.
Uber therefore wants the National Land and Transport Act to include a category called ‘transport network operator’.
“A transport network operator can be someone who is using technology as lead generation,” Lits said.
Lits explained that a transport network operator licence could also be applied for by other companies and drivers that use technology in the transport space.
Local regulation
Uber’s appearance in parliament this week came after the service has been in the spotlight in South Africa this year.
In June, Uber’s Lits said Cape Town traffic officials have impounded over 200 Uber cars this year because drivers for the internet service did not meet metered taxi permit regulations.
However, the Western Cape government granted over 100 metered taxi licences to Uber drivers in July.
The City of Cape Town said it further plans to introduce an e-hailing bylaw to cater for the likes of Uber, but Lits said that this would be a “short-term solution” because e-hailing is a sub-category of metered taxi regulations.
Gauteng MEC for Transport Ismail Vadi also said in July that Uber must comply with metered taxi requirements in cities such as Johannesburg and Pretoria.
This call came after alleged intimidation from metered taxi drivers towards Uber partners.
Lits said that Uber planned to have more discussions with the province in the light of Vadi’s recent comments.
But the province has yet to provide clarity on what could happen to Uber drivers who previously applied for charter service licences, Lits said.
New Uber drivers in Gauteng, though, are also applying for both charter and metered licences.
“There are some that are applying for charter services and others that are applying for metered taxis,” Lits said.
Cape Town and Johannesburg are not the only cities in the world where Uber has come under pressure from regulators and rival taxi firms.
In South Korea’s Seoul, officials have said the internet ride-sharing service is illegal, while metered taxi drivers in Paris took to burning cars earlier this year to express their anger at Uber.
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