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Country-wide Uber outage

Lauren Kate Rawlins
By Lauren Kate Rawlins, ITWeb digital and innovation contributor.
Johannesburg, 04 May 2016
Uber users and drivers have not been able to make use of the platform this morning.
Uber users and drivers have not been able to make use of the platform this morning.

E-hailing taxi service Uber is experiencing a country-wide outage this morning. Drivers are unable to connect to the platform and passengers cannot hail a cab through the app.

A message when opening the app says: "We are experiencing a brief disruption which is making it difficult for drivers to use the app. We're sorry for any inconvenience this is causing and our thanks to the Uber community for their patience as we work through the issue."

Once in the app, the user is told all UberX, Uber Black and UberSUV vehicles are in use.

An Uber spokesperson said the team is working to resolve the issue and get the service back online. No reason was given for the outage.

Last month, Uber dropped its fares on UberX by up to 20% in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town.

The company said it was confident the price cuts will increase demand among customers, leading to driver-partners earning more money.

Uber SA GM Alon Lits says the company expects existing riders to use the service more and more, and additional people who thought it was too expensive, to start.

The platform is growing rapidly in the country. In 2014, there were over one million Uber trips in SA. In the first half of 2015, there were over two million trips booked.

Uber claims that within the centres it operates in SA, users will be able to hail an Uber within four minutes.

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