Uber turns seven in Sri Lanka; covers over 555 million km in trips

From left: Uber drivers awarded trophies and gifts worth Rs. 35 k each for their contribution

Uber driver Nalin S. receiving trophy and gifts worth Rs. 35,000 from Sri Lanka Uber Rides Country Manager Thanushika Sivanathan

Uber completed seven years of operations in Sri Lanka and shared some interesting numbers as it touched a new milestone. In its seven years of operations, Uber has completed over 555 million kilometres in Uber trips around the island nation. That’s enough kilometres to travel to the moon from Earth and back 725 times.

With more than 150,000+ driver partners on the platform and having served more than 2 million riders, Uber has revolutionised the way Sri Lankans travel. Starting with car rides in 2015, Uber has grown its portfolio to include offerings such as ‘intercity’ for travel between cities; ‘rentals’ for multi-stop, multi-hour journeys; tuks and moto for affordable travel that improve first and last mile connectivity; and ‘connect’, for door-to-door package deliveries.

To mark this special occasion, Uber celebrated the contribution of driver partners to the success of its operations. Seven highly engaged driver partners were awarded trophies and gifts worth Rs. 35,000 each including shopping vouchers and travel accessories. 

Commenting on Uber journey in Sri Lanka, Uber Rides Country Manager Thanushika Sivanathan said: “We are proud to have completed our seventh year of operations in Sri Lanka. It has been an enriching journey to see Uber become a platform of choice for riders and drivers alike. We recognise the tireless efforts of driver partners on the app who have played a critical role in making Uber a household name. We are committed to bringing the best of Uber to Sri Lanka by providing tech-powered mobility solutions.”

The seven drivers included three car drivers, three tuk drivers, and a moto driver:

• Lalith P. (cars) – Lalith has been driving on the Uber platform for over six years now. He has completed almost 18,000 trips and has a rating of 4.85. He gets compliments for his care towards customers. He is happy with the flexible earning opportunities with Uber
• Nalin S. (cars) – Nalin has been driving with Uber ever since the time Uber first entered Sri Lanka. He has over 16,500 trips to his name and enjoys a high rating of 4.93. He recommended others to join Uber often and was highly appreciative of the company’s support during COVID. The best part of his work as per him is meeting different individuals every day
• Manjula S. (cars) – Manjula has been driving on the Uber platform for over six years now. He has completed an incredible 17,500 trips with us and has an exceptional rating of 4.94. When he first joined Uber, he drove a rented car. But through his earnings from the platform, he has been able to purchase his own car. What he loves about his work is the respect that he receives from riders
• Murugan S. (tuk) – Murugan has been driving with Uber for four years and has completed over 19,500 trips with a superb rating of 4.93. He has been able to achieve financial independence through his earnings from the platform and is able to regularly send money to his family who stay in his family village
• Susantha D. (tuk) – He has been driving with Uber for over four years now. He has completed over 18,500 trips and has an enviable near-perfect rating of 4.98. Initially driving for a few days a week, Susantha now enjoys driving getting behind the wheel every day. He appreciates the prompt support that Uber provides and was appreciative of the ration packs he received during the recent economic crisis. He believes that anyone who owns a car or a three-wheeler along with a smartphone should consider driving with Uber
• Sanjeewa D. (tuk) – He has been driving on the Uber platform for more than 3.5 years and has completed over 19,500 trips with an outstanding rating of 4.95. He loves Uber for the support provided by the company during hard times. During COVID, when the rides dried up, he switched to delivering with Uber Eats and appreciated the flexibility that the platform provides
• Rizvi M. (moto) – Rizvi has been driving on the Uber platform ever since the launch of Uber Moto and has completed over 7000 trips with an exceptional rating of 4.92. He likes driving with Uber due to the flexibility that the platform offers and the opportunity to be his own boss. Flexibility, ease of use, and sustainable earnings is the reason he continues to drive with Uber

A recent survey by UK-based research firm Public First revealed that 91% of the riders in Sri Lanka value convenience as the most important reason to use Uber. Each year, Uber saves riders an estimated 3.7 million hours. 

As per Sri Lanka, ridesharing has been the most significant transport innovation they have experienced in the last decade. In 2021 alone, Uber unlocked an estimated Rs. 81 billion in economic value for the Bangladesh economy. This included both the impact of earnings of driver partners facilitated by Uber and the wider indirect and induced multiplier effect created throughout the company’s wider supply chain.

As a pioneer in the ridesharing industry in Sri Lanka, Uber was the first to introduce several critical safety features on the platform, such as a feature to share GPS location with loved ones through ‘Share my trip’; proactively detect trip anomalies through ‘RideCheck’; screening personal phone numbers to maintain privacy through ‘phone anonymisation’; and giving riders an option to share fare costs through ‘split fare’ feature.