Ride-sharing apps rise in Venezuela as public transit decays

Arreaza gets in a Ridery car she requested, outside her work in Caracas, Venezuela. Arreaza, 39, had long depended on public transportation to reach her downtown office and was intrigued by advertisements for the new Ridery app, though initially sceptical, she is now a frequent user of Ridery. — AP

CARACAS, Venezuela: Ride-sharing apps like Uber, DiDi and Lyft may have driven across much of the globe, but they haven’t yet rolled into Venezuela, where US sanctions and years of hyper-inflation and other woes made it difficult to operate.

So a handful of local entrepreneurs have started their own ride-sharing apps – and appear to be finding a welcome from customers frustrated by scarce taxis, ageing buses and a decrepit subway system.