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Inside Uber's buzzing Joburg 'Greenlight Hub'

Johannesburg - Demand for internet ride-sharing service Uber in South Africa has grown strongly in recent years with over 4 000 driver-partners having signed up. But an illustration of this growth is drivers' daily foot traffic into the ride-sharing app's Johannesburg head office.

The Uber Greenlight Hub in Parktown North, Johannesburg becomes a hub of activity almost everyday as the centre serves Uber driver partners for queries and information. Those seeking to become driver-partners are also assisted.

Very similar to queues seen outside a home affairs or vehicle licensing office, Uber drivers and potential drivers trail from a line beginning outside the building up a flight of stairs to a seated queue. 

READ: How Uber plans to disrupt SA's delivery industry

Uber Africa spokesperson Samantha Allenberg told Fin24 that the 'Greenlight Hub'  in Johannesburg aims to serve drivers as quickly as possible. 

“Before drivers arrive at the inquiry desk they input their information before being seated to reduce the amount of time they spend at the centre,” she said. 

Allenberg added that the they aim to serve drivers in the queue within 20 minutes.

Only Egyptian capital Cairo has a bigger and busier Uber service than Johannesburg, Fin24 reported last week.

READ: Cairo surpasses Joburg as Uber’s biggest African city

Cairo's Greenlight Hub is also among the busiest in the world, Uber’s head of operations for Europe, Middle East and Africa Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty told Fin24.

Johannesburg, though, is still among the top five out of 115 cities for Uber in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, the company revealed to Fin24 last week.

Johannesburg was also Africa's first city to get the Uber service in 2013. In South Africa, Uber operates in Cape Town, Pretoria, Durban and Port Elizabeth as weel.

Fin24 has subsequently been allowed by Uber to take photos of internet company's Johannesburg Greenlight Hub. Take a look at the photos below.

Are you an Uber driver? How do you find working for the service? Tell us by clicking here.

The queue for assistance at the Uber Greenlight Hub starts almost outside the doors.

Scores of drivers line the staircase to log their details before being served.

Before being served, Uber drivers are required to punch in their information.

A computerised systems requires drivers to input their name and mobile number. The system is able to automatically retrieve a driver's information before being served.

Drivers are expected to wait only 20 minutes in this queue before being served for queries.

Drivers are queued by numbers with aassistants being ready with their information before they reach the help desk.

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