By Muhammad Luqman
After launching its bus service in Egypt, the Dubai-based Careem, the famous ride-hailing service, has said it is next planning on launching a similar service in Pakistan.
According to media reports, Chief Executive Officer, Careem, Mudassir Sheikha ,during the launching ceremony of the bus service in Egypt, said that the company was planning on expanding its bus service to other countries including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
“Careem Bus is our latest launch, but in terms of impact, it could be one of our most significant,” the CEO said.
Careem Bus service would be 13 seater. Users of the Careem Bus app can select their pick-up and drop-off location and track the bus along dedicated routes. The company announced it would add more routes in the future.
Careem is presently working in Pakistan with cars, rickshaws and motorcycles and has been hailed by its citizens who have now started depending on it to get to their destination.
The launch comes more than a year after Careem invested $500,000 in Egyptian tech start-up Swvl, which offers bus-booking services on its own mobile app. Careem said it had since divested the stake.
Swvl announced last month it was planning to expand to Southeast Asia after securing “tens of million of dollars” in its latest funding round.
Careem competes in many major cities of Middle East and Pakistan with San Francisco-headquartered Uber Technologies.
Careem has been working with investment bank Jefferies as an adviser on investment options and fundraising, including a potential merger and acquisition deal in the region with Uber.
Careem is a transportation network company based in Dubai, with operations in over 100 cities in 14 countriesin the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. The company is valued at around $1.2 billion as of 2017.
