Tanzanian Government Eases Regulation As Uber Sets To Resume National Operation
After what seemed like a communication and agreement challenges between the Tanzanian government and the Two prominent ride-hailing providers in the east African country, Uber and Bolt, the government is ready to ease the transportation-related regulations, so both companies can resume full operations. As it stands, the challenges encountered by both parties have been resolved.
Ride-sharing services Uber and Bolt are set to resume their operations in Tanzania after weeks of uncertainty.
This information was made known through an announcement made by Mr Habibu Suluo, the director general of Uganda’s Land Transport Regulatory Authority(LATRA) while he was addressing pressmen.
According to him, “Uber suspended their operations after LATRA’s announcement of online fares and e-ticketing system that directed them to charge legal fees with an executive order to be obeyed and filed a case at the competition council to challenge our decisions,” he further said, “However, Bolt continued to provide the service but later they submitted a report saying they are suspending their services, but, we called them so that we can discuss since we believed we can reach an agreement through dialogue.”
The regulatory body held the meeting with both companies within the first week of the month of September, in the meeting, Uber and Bolt had their African representatives present, representing the companies’ interests.
It will be recalled that the Tanzanian government in March of 2022, came up with some regulations that hindered the operation of Bolt and Uber in the country. Due to the regulations, Uber was forced to shut down its operations, while Bolt had to limit its service to corporate clients only.In detailed reportage of Uber’s exit from the nation, the American-owned mobility company bowed out on the 14th of April 2022, stating that it could not continue its operations because of the ease of operating business. In Uber’s defence, LATRA had developed rigid regulation policies which complicated the company’s business operations and in all made it impossible to function in Tanzania.In its existing statement, the company said, “We have made the difficult decision to suspend our services in Tanzania from Thursday 14 April 2022. The guide fare set by the Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA) has posed significant challenges for systems like Uber to continue to provide services to our customers. It becomes increasingly difficult for us to continue providing services. We will not be able to provide services until the environment becomes friendly for us to continue providing services.Uber had made efforts and showed interest in collaborating with the Tanzanian government to create a working space for international businesses and investments to succeed. As a result of its interest in the country, we see both parties making an effort to lay aside differences.