• Uber has announced the launch of a new Store Pick-Ups feature in South Africa.
• The announcement came as Uber celebrated 10 years of operating in SA this week.
• The feature allows users to enable delivery people to pickup any prepaid item from any store in the country.

It is strange to think that Uber has already been operating in South Africa for a decade, but this week the ridesharing platform celebrated its 10 year anniversary in SA. The company also marked the occasion by announcing a series of expansions to current services, as well as revealing a new one in the form of Store Pick-Ups.

As the name would suggest, Store Pick-Ups will allow users to enable delivery people to pick up any prepaid item from any store in the country.

At the time of writing the feature is now accessible in the Uber Eats or Uber Ride apps, but it is expected to rollout in the coming weeks, and could prove a handy aspect to the platform down the line, which is focusing more on delivery these days.

As for the current services set to expand to other parts of SA, Uber confirmed during an event this week that Uber Van is expanding to Cape Town, along with its premium rideshare offering Uber Black coming to Durban, and the addition of Reserve Airport Pickup for its UberX, Uber Comfort, and Uber XL rides. 

“Our mobility business in South Africa has grown over the past few years, evidenced by expansion to nearly 30 cities across the country, and providing independent earning opportunities for over 20,000 earners,” noted Kagiso Khaole, GM for Uber Sub-Saharan Africa.

“That is why Uber is reinforcing its commitment to contribute to seamless mobility and delivery by innovating new ways to help both riders and drivers move smoothly, hassle-free and feel safe on every trip,” he added.

While we must admit that driver and passenger safety still have some ways to go on the platform, Uber has some sustainability-focused plans on the agenda for South Africa. Here the company is going to transition its fleet of delivery vehicles for Uber Package (formerly Uber Connect) to electric vehicles.

“The electric vehicles for Uber Package will first be available in Cape Town. The launch of the product is a key step in transitioning the Uber Package fleet to be fully electric by 2023 and in achieving Uber’s global target of becoming a zero-emission platform by 2040,” the company added in a press release sent to Hypertext.

Lastly worth highlighting from this week’s event is Uber Live, which too was launched and is a mobile ordering solution for when people are not at home or a usual location.

“We are excited about the launch of Uber Live as we are able to take the food shopping experience to the next level for attendees at large events such as festivals, concerts or sporting celebrations, eliminating endless queues to allow our users to enjoy the event to the fullest,” concluded Nakampe Molewa, GM for Uber Eats Sub-Saharan Africa.

[Image – Provided]