rewrite this content with different wording and keep HTML tags
Uber App is officially shut down its operations in Pakistan as it has ceased to function in Lahore, the only city in the country where it was operating. The app will be taken over by subsidiary Careem in the capital of Punjab. Talking to the media, an Uber spokesperson stated that the company has made the decision to cease operating the Uber app in Pakistan.
“Our subsidiary brand Careem will continue to operate, with the Careem app offering ride-hailing services across Pakistan and earning opportunities for the drivers,” the official stated.
It is pertinent to mention that Uber stopped operations in Pakistan’s five major cities back in 2022 when it announced that it was wrapping up operations in Karachi, Multan, Faisalabad, Peshawar, and Islamabad. Since then, the app has only been available in Lahore.
The media reports suggested that the company’s decision is in line with Uber’s global growth strategy, where it has rolled back or merged operations with its subsidiary companies. After the announcement, Careem officially replaced Uber in Pakistan. The subsidiary will continue to provide its ride-hailing service in different cities including Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Abbottabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot Faisalabad and Quetta.
Uber and Careem
Uber acquired Careem in 2019 for $3.1 billion. At the time of the acquisition, Uber vowed to run both apps simultaneously, an assertion most sector analysts doubted.
Since the merger, it has been evident that both apps are hard to run together as the service quality has decreased in the last couple of years. With the launch of new apps, especially InDriver (now InDrive) and Bykea, the company has been facing serious competition as many users started using these new apps.
With time, the fare rate also started to increase compared to the new apps, hence Uber’s downfall. According to experts, Uber retained Lahore because it was a leading position there and a profitable market for them.
As per numbers on Data Darbar, a website that tracks investment flows into Pakistan, InDrive had acquired the ride-hailing market’s driving seat without any physical presence. The website showed that the InDrive app downloads were almost twice the downloads of Careem in Pakistan.
