Uber has announced it will make the cash payment feature permanent for Nairobi residents after a successful two-month pilot brought a five-fold growth in sign-ups and referrals.
Nairobi is only the second city to accept cash payments after the city of Hyderabad, India, in over 300 cities where Uber has a presence in.
Uber Sub Saharan General Manager, Alon Lits, says the company has adapted its technology to meet the needs of local consumers.
“We received very positive feedback from our riders during the pilot. We have tripled our growth since then and the drivers using the Uber platform are taking more trips so taking more money home too. We have listened to this to and now we want everyone to enjoy the hassle-free convenience of ordering a safe ride at the push of a button,” said Lits.
Uber SSA says Nairobi is now one of the fastest growing cities internationally for Uber following the launch of the cash test pilot. The number of partner-drivers has doubled over the last two months to cope with the growth in demand.
“The interest in Uber in Nairobi has been amazing. Nairobi is one of the most innovative cities on the continent and cash payments is one of the innovations we have made for the Nairobi market. We are excited to be extending this cash payment option to all Uber riders in the city as we give more people access to one of the safest and most reliable transportation options,” adds Lits.
Riders have access to all the current Uber features but can simply choose the cash payment option, take a ride and pay their driver directly in cash at the end of the trip.
Nairobi and Hyderabad were the first two cities selected for this experiment because they provided Uber with the right environment to test a new payment option among a sizeable and sophisticated rider and driver community. Following the cash pilots in Nairobi and Hyderabad cash payments have been rolled out across five other cities in India.
