Uber Sri Lanka launch showing faster growth rate than India

Uber Regional GM Indian Subcontinent Bhavik Rathod (right) with Uber Senior Launcher Varun Mundkur at the media briefing yesterday in Colombo - Pic by Shehan Gunasekara

By Shiran Illanperuma

After rolling out service since mid-October, international transportation network company Uber officially launched its services in Colombo at a press meet yesterday revealing that early growth rates have surpassed those of Bangalore – Uber’s pilot city in India.

Uber Regional Manager Indian Subcontinent Bhavik Rathod welcomed the long-awaited launch in the island nation. “We have noticed a trend ever since our initial launched in San Francisco where each new city’s growth surpasses the other and early signs in Colombo are no different.”

Rathod claims that the service which charges Rs. 50 per kilometre and Rs. 2 per minute is 10-15% cheaper than most local options and faster to boot. “After rolling out or services since mid-October we found that are response time to customers is already about five minutes,” he said.

Rathod also noted that Sri Lanka was a prime market due to the higher penetration of credit and debit cards as well as smart phone technology relative to the rest of Asia. “The penetration of smartphones in Sri Lanka is very high at 20%, and of course that is concentrated in Colombo and the Western Province. Meanwhile there are about one million credit cards and 11 million debit cards in Sri Lanka.”

Despite entering a market with established taxi services as well as a saturation of private auto-rickshaws, Uber Communications Lead Karun Arya claims that they are happy to have competition. “The transport market has not been innovated in decades so any minute change has a large effect. Uber changes the transport landscape wherever we go.”

While representatives refused to comment on the number of contractors currently operating in the country, Rathod claimed that the service was a platform for local entrepreneurs. “We have independent contractors, not employees. They are free to be their own bosses and set their own timings and manage their family life and other projects.”

Currently the only Uber service available in Colombo is Uberx, which provides air-conditioned sedans. Uber operations in other countries offer a range of services including hatchbacks, auto-rickshaws, four-wheel drives, and higher-end luxury cars.

Uber representatives declined to outline concrete plans for expansion into new services or cities.