Uber is further strengthening its presence in the Southeast Asian region with the launch of its ride-hailing service in Lahore, Pakistan.
The expansion in the region, which is being fueled by the $250 million funding round that the company recently raised for expansion in emerging markets, exposes the San Francisco-based company to a population base of 10 million in the second largest city in Pakistan.
Uber’s move into Pakistan — its 69th market — is, so far, nothing like other markets, such as its neighboring country, India, where the company faced massive resistance from the government after its launch. “We have been welcomed with open arms by the government of Punjab and the regulators in Lahore, who see the need for Uber,” said Shaden Abdellatif, a spokeswoman for the company, according to The Wall Street Journal.
As the company gains a grip over the Pakistani market, it is expected to face some resistance from a fragmented ride-hailing app market, which constitutes several other companies, including Careem, a Dubai-based company that also offers other app-based services on the side.
The success of its service in Lahore is set to have an impact on the company’s expansion strategy in the rest of country as, for now, it’s just testing the waters of the market, the company said.
However, in India — its second largest market after the U.S. — the company is continuing to see a rise in demand, which has now led to the launch of a motorbike-hailing service called UberMOTO in the city of Bangalore.
Uber’s launch of the motorbike service, while not very unconventional, is unique to the needs of the city that is infamous for its massive gridlocks and is reportedly ranked among the cities with the worst traffic delays in the world.
While the success of Uber’s ride-hailing service in Pakistan and UberMOTO in India is yet to be seen, the company remains optimistic and has gone to great lengths to accommodate safety concerns and acceptance of cash as a payment method.