ISLAMABAD: An Egyptian smart transportation company, Swvl, announced its decision to discontinue intracity rides from June 3 in four major urban centers of Pakistan in a statement released on Thursday.
Swvl, the Egypt-born, Dubai-based startup that began its journey in Pakistan in July 2019 to offer affordable means of transportation to people living in different parts of the country.
Swvl has announced it is suspending its intra-city services in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Faisalabad starting from Friday, June 3 “in light of the global economic downturn”.
“In light of the global economic downturn, we are pausing our Swvl Daily rides within the cities of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Faisalabad starting from Friday the 3rd of June, 2022,” the company said in its statement.
Last month, Pakistan raised fuel prices by Rs30 per liter amid a major economic crisis to fulfill one of the conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the resumption of a loan program amounting to $6 billion.
The news comes just days after the company announced it was going to reduce its global headcount by approximately 32% as part of a “portfolio optimization program to enhance efficiency and reduce central costs to accelerate its path to profitability and turn cash flow positive in 2023.
Swvl said in its statement that it believed that every Pakistani should have the right to reliable, comfortable, and affordable transportation to safely commute from one point to another.
The company also thanked its subscribers for allowing it to serve them daily in the statement.
