How to Determine if Uber will come to your City

Posted by John Smith on August 9th, 2016

Taking a good look at the way Uber’s expansion works, one would realize that they choose their cities with much care. In the attempt to serve the world as a whole, the company is not blind to the need to choose a healthy Uber Market that would potentially grow the business as fast as necessary. In this post, we would be looking at some features that should cause Uber to consider coming to your city. 

1. Flexible Transport Regulatory Policies

Considering the regulatory issues Uber is currently having in a few places around the world, it would be right to say that any market Uber would enter in the future will be checked for ‘regulatory conducivenesses. Disputes regarding transport laws and regulations can have very strong effects on Uber’s ability to operate. It is so strong that it is sometimes enough reason for Uber to pull out of a city – and we have seen that a few times (in Austin, Calgary and so on). In situations where they are a bit tight, the willingness of the authorities to reason might also help both ends reach a compromise. 

2. High Tech Interest

A company like Uber is now connecting riders with drivers (an Uber driver is also sometimes referred to as an Uber Partner). If a city has a population of people who are not aware or not very interested in the advancement that tech companies would bring, Uber might not have a convincing reign. San Francisco is a good example of a tech friendly company. San Francisco could be referred to as the birthplace of tech startups, housing giants brands like Apple, Google and Facebook. You would expect that a place like that would be a good starting place for a company like Uber. Tech Interested places are ideal Uber Markets. 

3. Places Suffering From Taxi Monopoly or Less Transport Alternatives

The primary goal of Uber from the start was to end the monopoly that yellow taxis enjoyed in most parts of the world. In addition to comfort, speed, and reliability, Uber brings a choice to the transport table and potentially more money for existing drivers (see our blog post – how much do Uber drivers make for more information). Therefore, cities in need of a choice might draw more attention from Uber. Cities such as that are potential new Uber markets. For example, taxi company "medallions" (a badge that gives you the right to drive a taxi) which used to sell for astonishing sums of money in some US cities began to lose its value as soon as Uber stepped in. Chicago badge sales went down 17 percent, Boston went down 22 percent, while in Philadelphia the medallion auction was scrapped. It is very obvious that Uber thrives more in cities where they had the problem of taxi monopoly to solve. 

4. Large Commercial Cities

When Uber considers launching anywhere, I want to believe that the size of the city matters too. Being that a big city means a bigger market full of more prospective riders and Uber Partners, it is logical to find Uber sorting the next launch areas based on the population of the cities under consideration. For example, we have a city like New York in the U.S, a vibrant Uber Market. There is no way a brand such as Uber would have wasted anytime bringing their service to such a market. We have seen Uber targeting cities like Lagos, Nigeria in Africa (Most populous Black Nation). They have also taken their services in countries like India and China very serious given the population reputation of the two areas. 

5. Countries With Rideshare Companies Present

Uber may also consider a city that has the presence of a ridesharing firm. Apart from the fact that Uber wishes to be the one who brings the extra choice to people in a community, one could logically argue that the fact that a company in that industry is already surviving in a city may serve as some form of guarantee. That is, it becomes easier for Uber to choose to give it a try when there’s a ‘living testimony’. 

6. Already Expectant Cities

An example of this is a city where Uber isn’t present, but has had a significant number of downloads- i.e. a city where Uber has been getting a number of emails from people anticipating Uber’s arrival. The fact that there are expectant potential customers in a city is surely enough reason to become an Uber Market.

 These are very few but good features that a Prospective Uber Market should have. Is your city Uber-less? Find a way (if you can) to make at least one of this features come to their notice, and you may be taking you first free Uber ride soon. You might even be the Rider Zero.

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About the team

Founded in 2014 by Malik Akande, a former Accenture employee, the Uberkit team is dedicated to aiding uber drivers and uber partners maximize their profits and ROI. The “Own an Uber black fleet kit” and “Grow your UberX Business Kit” was designed and developed primarily by Malik Akande for uber entrepreneurs looking to start/grow their uber business.

-by Ola John and Edited by Kunle Bowale