There’s no doubt that Uber drivers cover thousands of kilometres of tar in their driving lifetime.

Picking up one passenger here, only to take them there, just to pick up another a few roads away to take them goodness knows where, Uber trips have the potential to gather a shit load of data.

And Uber knows this.

Expecting to launch a data initiative that “provides both real-time and long-term trends in road congestion in Johannesburg later this year,” reports Business Live, Uber has already set up partnerships around the world.

Here are the details:

Uber has already begun using its fleet of driver-owned vehicles to map SA’s road network in Cape Town, and will extend the service to urban planners and other entities, such as emergency services, in Johannesburg by around the middle of the year, said Uber SA head of public policy Yolisa Mashilwane.

Speaking at a Transport Forum seminar at the University of Johannesburg on “servicing the last mile”, Mashilwane said the system would allow for longer term trends on congestion to be mapped by time, day, month — or any chosen periods of a year.

Working closely with municipal governments all over the world, including Cape Town, they have begun providing information on passenger demands to and from key public transportation nodes as cities reconsider their infrastructure:

Uber had yet to formally engage with authorities in Johannesburg, but had implemented sharing of data in other cities using the vehicles as a “network of sensor probes”. Uber in SA was also looking to include its open data initiative “Uber Movements”, with the company tackling “what we are all struggling with: real-time data”.

And get this – the company has predicted that by 2030, 25% of all trips by kilometre will be with ride-based services, having already noted trends in declining car ownership – how crazy is that?

If you aren’t on the ball yet, sign up HERE and be a part of the future – after all, Uber is great when you are in a pickle or too drunk to drive.

[source:businesslive]