‘Uber Taxi’ Launched in Jordan

‘Uber Taxi’ Launched in Jordan
TT

‘Uber Taxi’ Launched in Jordan

‘Uber Taxi’ Launched in Jordan

Uber Jordan today has announced the launch of taxi-hailing service ‘Uber Taxi’ in the country. Jordan is the first country in the Middle East to get Uber Taxi. Careem that was recently acquired by Uber recently, however, has taxi-hailing services in many of its markets in the region including Jordan.

Uber in a statement said that the launch of Uber Taxi in Jordan is a testament to Uber’s support of the public transport sector in the nation, as well as its efforts to make transportation even more accessible to residents and visitors alike.

The statement also noted that Uber Taxi has expanded company’s network of vehicles in the country and will provide new economic opportunities for taxi drivers who will have access to more trips.

The announcement comes almost two weeks after Uber’s acquisition of its rival Careem but apparently the launch has nothing to do with Careem already having the option to hail taxis in Jordan as the two companies are not expected to have any integration until the deal is closed.

The base fare of UberX, Uber’s low-cost car type and Uber Taxi is same, JOD 0.5 ($0.71) but the taxi is relatively cheaper than Uber X as the per KM charges for Uber Taxi are set at JOD 0.130 compared to Uber X’s JOD 0.140 and per minute charges on Uber Taxi are JOD 0.050 whereas Uber X charges JOD 0.060.

Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Vice President of Uber operations in Europe, Middle East & Africa, commenting on the launch, said, “I am honored to announce the arrival of Uber Taxi in Jordan, and we are excited to be tapping into local modes of transport so that more riders and drivers can benefit from our technology. Jordan is a fast growing market, especially in the smart transport services sector, and through this launch, we aim to move towards our goal of becoming a multi-modality platform,”

“Furthermore, we hope that this will galvanize the development of transportation services in Jordan, and provide taxi drivers new opportunities to reap the economic benefits by using our technology to maximize their earning potential through the option of pairing with the closest Uber Taxi rider in addition to traditional street hailing,” he added.

Uber Taxi can be accessed through the regular Uber app as another car option by the users in Jordan. The company already has on-boarded hundreds of taxi drivers who are ready to start accepting the trips.

The taxi drivers, per the statement, will receive the same privileges provided to all Uber drivers and will be charged a reduced service fee.



China Launches Late Stimulus Push to Meet 2024 Growth Target

FILE PHOTO: A worker works on a building under construction in Beijing's Central Business District (CBD), China July 14, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A worker works on a building under construction in Beijing's Central Business District (CBD), China July 14, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
TT

China Launches Late Stimulus Push to Meet 2024 Growth Target

FILE PHOTO: A worker works on a building under construction in Beijing's Central Business District (CBD), China July 14, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A worker works on a building under construction in Beijing's Central Business District (CBD), China July 14, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo

China's central bank on Friday lowered interest rates and injected liquidity into the banking system as Beijing assembled a last-ditch stimulus assault to pull economic growth back towards this year's roughly 5% target, Reuters reported.
More fiscal measures are expected to be announced before China's week-long holidays starting on Oct. 1, after a meeting of the Communist Party's top leaders showed an increased sense of urgency about mounting economic headwinds.
On the heels of the Politburo huddle, China plans to issue special sovereign bonds worth about 2 trillion yuan ($284.43 billion) this year as part of fresh fiscal stimulus, two sources with knowledge of the matter have told Reuters.
Capital Economics chief Asia Economist Mark Williams estimates the package "would lift annual output by 0.4% relative to what it would otherwise have been."
"It's late in the year, but a new package of this size that was implemented soon should be enough to deliver growth in line with the 'around 5%' target," he said.
Chinese stocks are on track for the best week since 2008 on stimulus expectations.
The world's second-largest economy faces strong deflationary pressures due to a sharp property market downturn and frail consumer confidence, which have exposed its over-reliance on exports in an increasingly tense global trade environment.
A wide range of economic data in recent months has missed forecasts, raising concerns among economists that the growth target was at risk and that a longer-term structural slowdown could be in play.
On Friday, data showed industrial profits swinging back to a sharp contraction in August.
"We believe the persistent growth weakness has hit policymakers' pain threshold," Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note.
As flagged on Tuesday by Governor Pan Gongsheng, the People's Bank of China on Friday trimmed the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves, known as the reserve requirement ratio (RRR), by 50 basis points, the second such reduction this year.
The move is expected to release 1 trillion yuan ($142.5 billion) in liquidity into the banking system and was accompanied by a cut in the benchmark interest rate on seven-day reverse repurchase agreements by 20 bps to 1.50%. The cuts take effect on Friday and Pan, in rare forward-looking remarks, left the door open to another RRR reduction later this year.

Given weak credit demand from households and businesses, investors are more focused on the fiscal measures that are widely expected to be announced in coming days.
Reuters reported on Thursday that 1 trillion yuan due to be raised via special bonds will be used to increase subsidies for a consumer goods replacement program and for the upgrade of large-scale business equipment.
They will also be used to provide a monthly allowance of about 800 yuan, or $114, per child to all households with two or more children, excluding the first child.
China aims to raise another 1 trillion yuan via a separate special sovereign debt issuance to help local governments tackle their debt problems.
Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that China is also considering the injection up to 1 trillion yuan of capital into its biggest state banks.
Most of China's fiscal stimulus still goes into investment, but returns are dwindling and the spending has saddled local governments with $13 trillion in debt.
The looming fiscal measures would mark a slight shift towards stimulating consumption, a direction Beijing has said for more than a decade that it wants to take but has made little progress on.
China's household spending is less than 40% of annual economic output, some 20 percentage points below the global average. Investment, by comparison, is 20 points above but has been fueling much more debt than growth.
The politburo also pledged to stabilize the troubled real estate market, saying the government should expand a white list of housing projects that can receive further financing and revitalize idle land.
The September meeting is not usually a forum for discussing the economy, which suggests growing anxiety among officials.
"The 'shock and awe' strategy could be meant to jumpstart the markets and boost confidence," Nomura analysts said in a note.
"But eventually it is still necessary for Beijing to introduce well thought policies to address many of the deep-rooted problems, particularly regarding how to stabilize the property sector."