Six years after it launched in 2016, Uber announced that it has ceased operations in Tanzania, stating that an unpleasant regulatory situation has made it difficult to continue its services in the East African country.
Uber has hinted at plans to resume operations in Tanzania after the government modified regulatory directives that had been boycotted by ride-hailing companies, via The Citizen. The new regulatory changes in which the government raised commission and reinstated booking fee, are seen as a relief to the companies.
In a notice issued on December 30 that superseded the initial direction issued in March 2022, the Land and Transport Regulatory Authority (Latra) announced an increase in the fee from 20% to 25%, effective as of last Sunday. Latra, which is in charge of establishing and approving pricing for the entire ridesharing industry, said “These new fares will be effective after 14 days of this notice.”
Innovation Village has learned that Uber has begun efforts to resume full operations as of Monday. This follows Bolt, whose services were reinstated back in October. Bolt had a 20% commission, while Uber was at 25%. Their exit opened the door for locally based competitors like Little (which takes a 15% cut) and Ping.
“We welcome the new pricing order introduced by the Land and Transport Regulatory Authority (Latra) which we believe will significantly contribute to the growth and development of the ride-hailing industry in Tanzania,” said Uber’s head of communications for East and West Africa Lorraine Onduru.
Onduru expressed his excitement over the new pricing order issued by the Land and Transport Regulatory Authority, claiming that it would “significantly contribute” to the expansion of the ride-hailing sector in Tanzania.
The e-hailing services have resumed after stakeholders, including Uber and Bolt representatives, lobbied for a review of the rates, and Tanzania announced in September that a compromise had been reached and the companies would resume operations.
