Nadya Eka Lestari
TechInAfrica — Uber has announced its pilot of UberBOAT on October 11th in Lagos. The launching was led by Governor of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo Olu, who was the special guest of honor and ‘rider zero’ of UberBOAT. The launching event took place in the Lagos State Waterways Authority complex at the Five Cowries Jetty Falomo where Governor Sanwo Olu took a ride on the new UberBOAT.
The Governor in a statement to a media said, “The last couple of years have seen the Lagos State Government commit to building up infrastructure that supports multi-modal transportation, which includes water transport. We collaborated with Uber on this because of the shared vision to utilize the waterways more as a means of decongesting the city. We remain excited at the prospect of scaling this initiative up and taking it further.
“Lagos State Government has embarked on a transformation agenda that has traffic management and mobility as key focus areas,” said Dr, Frederic Oladeinde; Commissioner for Transport in Lagos State. UberBOAT presents a unique opportunity to help improve mobility in the state by ramping up on water transportation as a means of getting people from point A to B,” he noted.
“We are piloting UberBOAT as a service that is focused on moving people from point A to point B via the Lagos waterways,” Lola Kassim, General Manager West Africa of Uber said. In his remarks, she said, “In this phase, the service will be available between the Five Cowries and Ikorodu Jetties. We are aware of the man hours and productivity that are lost every day due to vehicular traffic in Lagos State and are looking at ways to provide commuters with an easy and affordable way to get in and out of the city’s business districts. With UberBOAT, riders can leave their cars at home and instead utilize the waterways as a means of getting around faster and with less stress.”
Regarding the collaboration between Uber and LASWA, Uber Country Manager for Nigeria, Tayo Oyegunle, said, “Uber first launched in Lagos, Nigeria in 2014 with the Lagos State Government being a key stakeholder. Over the last several years, we’ve built lasting partnerships with public transportation agencies around the world, because we understand how important it is to build on regulatory frameworks that modern cities provide. LASWA’s vision is to transform Lagos into a Model city with world-class inland waterways infrastructure and services that help expand and improve access to urban mobility. We believe our app can help ensure this vision is brought to more people of Lagos State.”
Riders are able to book a ‘boat taxi’ on UberBOAT with two options; the pre-booking which should be done 24 hours before, or on the day of the trip. For the first option, riders can click on t.uber.com/bookuberboat to reserve a seat and after that will receive a confirmation that secures their spot. The second option is to arrive at the jetty on the day of the trip, 30 minutes before cruise time, open the Uber App, select UberBOAT and input either the pick-up or drop off points. A PIN will be generated and is used to secure the rider’s seat on the boat.
Uber aims to help people get a ride at the push of a button, everywhere and for everyone. The company started in 2009 to solve the problem of getting a ride at the touch of a button. The Uber network is now available in over 600 cities in over 80 countries across 6 continents.
Source: thisdaylive.com
