Uber taxi service hits Dhaka streets

Uber, the US online taxi hailing company, on Tuesday launched its operation in the Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, Global Times reports.

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

"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."

"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 & South Asia, as quoted by the statement.

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

Statistics say that as of August 2016, the Uber service was available in over 66 countries and 507 cities worldwide.