Today, Uber Uganda has announced that its Uber boda service will not be operating after 11pm this comes in light of the emerging safety concerns affecting Boda Boda riders. The company has put a curfew during which their drivers will not be allowed to ride passengers. In a statement they said
Drivers during night time, we are making a proactive safety approach to turn off the Uber Boda vehicle option between 11pm to 6am daily, starting 19 August 2019 until further notice.
Uber is taking its customer’s safety is their priority and they are working to introduce features and initiatives that give you peace of mind during each Uber trip.
How criminals take advantage of Uber boda drivers
Criminals have used boda bodas to commit crime including Uber boda services. These criminal can order for a ride to take them to a specific destination, when they reach the destination and the trip is ended, they ask to be taken further to another location which is off the current trip. They then use this opportunity to take the unsuspecting boda riders to another location where they hit the boda boda riders and take their motor bikes.
The company has however said this new curfew only applies to Uber boda and will not affect Uber X. They further said in the statement that,
The UberX (cars) option will continue to be active 24/7 and you can continue to enjoy affordable, reliable, and convenient rides around Kampala at any time.
