'Uber rapture' leaves passengers and drivers behind in Nigeria and Uganda

OFFBEAT

No time for a fare-thee-well as app hails a ride out of two more markets

In what some are dubbing the "Uber rapture," the ride-hailing pioneer has abruptly quit Nigeria and Uganda.

Far from drivers and their cars ascending to some surge-priced afterlife, users reported the service shutting down while rides were still underway.

"A friend of mine said they were on a ride when they got the message," one observer wrote on X. "She told the driver and he said, 'It's a lie!'" – a phrase widely used in Nigeria to express disbelief or call out what one perceives to be bullshit.

Unfortunately for drivers who rely on the platform for their livelihood, it wasn't.

The shutdown came with little apparent warning. In both countries, Uber sent notices on September 2 saying the service would cease that same day.

"We are writing to share some difficult news," the email to Nigerian customers began, according to TechCabal. A separate message to drivers acknowledged: "We know this is heavy news," and promised active drivers a one-off goodwill payment "to help ease this change." Some customers lamented the service's departure, describing it as one of the country's safer transport options.

Ugandan users and local partners received much the same abrupt farewell. Uber said it had been "an absolute privilege" to serve Kampala since 2016 and promised to keep in-app support available for 21 days to settle outstanding issues, according to the Daily Monitor. Rivals Faras, Bolt, and SafeBoda will now be eyeing the space it left behind.

Uber confirmed that it had wound down operations in both countries on September 2. "This decision is limited strictly to these two markets and does not impact our operations across the rest of the continent," it said in a statement. "Uber remains deeply committed to sub-Saharan Africa, where we continue to see robust growth and long-term opportunity."

The exits come amid a wider Uber restructuring that will cut more than 3,000 jobs, reduce management layers, and free up cash for investment in areas including autonomous vehicles, according to the BBC.

Uber launched in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, in 2014 and expanded into Uganda two years later. In Nigeria's traffic-choked commercial hub of Lagos, it even launched a boat service in 2019 to help commuters bypass the gridlock.

Uber offered no explanation beyond its boilerplate about changing priorities, but Nigeria had become a tough place to make the ride-hailing sums work. Drivers had complained that fares failed to keep pace with soaring fuel costs while Uber's commissions remained stubbornly high, and the company faced growing competition from Bolt, inDrive, and local rivals, according to the BBC.

The removal of Nigeria's fuel subsidy in 2023 pushed up operating costs, while inflation and another rise in petrol prices this year squeezed drivers further. Uber has not said whether those pressures prompted its exit, but they can't have made staying especially attractive.

The withdrawal continues a broader retreat from Africa. Uber also left Ivory Coast and Tanzania over the past year, leaving it operating in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa.

The Register asked Uber whether the service really ground to a halt while rides were still in progress, as reports of an "Uber rapture" suggested. We also asked when it decided to leave the two markets and how much notice it gave customers, drivers, and employees. Uber had not responded by the time of publication.

Users worldwide will recognize a lesser form of rapture: a driver accepts your booking, then cancels and vanishes from the app. ®