After pulling out of Islamabad, Karachi, Multan, and multiple other cities in 2022, Uber has now shut down services in Lahore.
The ride-hailing service has suddenly become inoperable in the city without any prior announcements or warnings.
Uber’s spokesperson told ProPakistani:
We’ve made the decision to cease operating the Uber app in Pakistan. Our subsidiary brand Careem will continue to operate, with the Careem app offering ride-hailing services across Pakistan and earning opportunities for drivers.
In October 2022, Uber ceased operating the Uber app in Karachi, Multan, Faisalabad, Peshawar and Islamabad. The Uber app was only available in Lahore until today’s decision.
The decision is in line with Uber’s global growth strategy: focusing on markets with opportunities for sustainable growth, the spokesperson added.
As compensation, Uber is offering a discount on Careem instead, which is owned by Uber. Using the code LHR50, Careem users can get a 50% discount on their next 5 rides.
An email statement clarifies that Uber will soon contact users who have cash in their accounts to process refunds. It is unclear when Uber customers will get their refunds as the company only says it will happen “in due course.”
As mentioned earlier, Careem will continue to operate as normal in all its cities and customers can use it as an Uber replacement. As a reminder, Careem Rides operates in 10 cities across Pakistan: Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, Abbottabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot and Quetta.
Pathetic service came to an end at last… I have worst experience with Uber. And with the acquisition of careem, thanks to the pathetic policies of Uber management due to which, careem like service got affected too. Not only customers faced many many issues but their captains were also complaining all the time.
This was expected. In current economy, anything that is not insanely thriving will shutdown. Its sad to see companies winding up operations in PK