The popular bus-sharing service Swvl has halted its intracity shuttle service in various cities across Pakistan due to the present economic upheaval. The compnay has announced that intracity trips in Multan, Faisalabad, Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi have been suspended.
It also stated that its city-to-city and business-to-business travel services remain operational. The corporation has not stated whether the service stoppage is temporary or permanent.
This comes on the heels of rumours that SWVL plans to cut 32 percent of its staff. This strategy is part of the company’s portfolio optimization plan, which aims to increase productivity and overall central expenses by 2023 in order to boost revenue and create positive cash flow.
“Swvl promised that having reliable, comfortable and affordable means of transportation is not something fictional. We believed that every Pakistani should have this right, the right to commute safely every day,” the notification said.
The company aims to provide monetary, non-monetary, and job placement assistance to its employees in order to facilitate a smooth transfer to new jobs.
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• Sustainability and organic and inorganic growth of Transport as a Service (TaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) businesses across all markets as part of SWVL’s portfolio optimization initiative.
• The company’s Business to Consumer (B2C) business will be focused on Egypt and Pakistan, which now contribute the most revenue and profitability to the company’s B2C business.
• Optimizing B2C route networks, as well as manpower and operating costs, in certain cities.
• Investing in the Company’s own technology stack will continue.
SWVL isn’t the only company in Pakistan dealing with problems, as the country’s tech-based service sector is undergoing a period of turmoil as a result of weak economic conditions, prompting many companies to cut costs in order to stay in business.
