Uber launches data sharing portal in Kenya

Taxi-hailing service, Uber has introduced Uber Movement in Kenya, a digital data-sharing website to help urban planners, city leaders, third parties and the public to better understand the transportation needs of Nairobi.

According to a report by Business Daily, the portal is designed to help urban planners in making informed decisions on road networks in and around the capital.

Uber Movement includes filters for specific dates and times, allowing users to investigate the impact of occurrences such as floods and electoral processes on traffic. There will be anonymised traffic data derived from Uber trips in Nairobi which will be freely accessible through Uber’s public and free data-sharing tool.

Uber Movement will provide data from the trips that passengers have taken with Uber in Nairobi, enabling urban planners to more effectively evaluate where their investments in transport infrastructure should be made.

Uber Movement was launched at the East Africa Com conference attended by government officials, city planners and local and international think tanks. Speaking at the launch, Uber’s head of Public Policy for East Africa, Cezanne Maherali, said Uber Movement is the next step to connecting with cities and having the opportunity to recognise their transportation needs.

Kenya is the third African country to get access to transportation data through Uber Movement, after Egypt and South Africa.