Uber launches its operation in Dhaka

Dhaka: Uber, the US online taxi hailing company, on Tuesday launched its operation in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.

"The world's largest on-demand mobility platform will be available in Dhaka (from Tuesday) to offer safe, reliable and affordable rides at the push of a button while opening up flexible, economic opportunities for driver-partners," the company said in a statement.

"As we roll out our services in Dhaka, we are excited to partner with Bangladesh's leading telecom partner Grameenphone with their most powerful 3G network that will elevate the experience for our riders and drivers," Xinhua news agency cited the statement as saying.

"Uber has a simple goal to use technology to make our cities more accessible while reducing congestion and pollution. In line with the government's vision of Digital Bangladesh, we are thrilled to be in Dhaka to harness technology for the benefit of riders, drivers and the city," said Amit Jain, president, Uber India and South Asia.

Uber allows consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request, which the software programme then automatically sends to the Uber driver nearest to the consumer, alerting the driver to the location of the customer.

According to statistics as of August 2016, the Uber service was available in over 66 countries and 507 cities worldwide.