New taxi service showing growth

CHRISTMAS Day, 4am – it is home time for partygoers, but business as usual for Uber driver Maphale Tselegi. Working on holidays doesn’t bother Tselegi, he says, even if the party season means all-hours pick-ups, dealing with the drunk, rowdy and disorderly, and passengers who just pass out.

For those with credit cards, Uber has redefined urban transport travel since launching in South Africa in September 2013. On New Year’s Eve, to encourage responsible partying, Uber prompted registered users to use its cellphone app to check on its price specials throughout the night . Uber South Africa’s spokeswoman, Samantha Allenberg, said the company had 2 000 drivers and it hoped to add 15 000 more by 2018.