Careem on Thursday announced expansion of its mobile-app based ride-hailing services to Quetta.

Careem entered the Pakistani market in 2016, launching its services in Karachi, Lahore and later Islamabad. It is now spread across 13 cities, including Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Multan, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Abbottabad, Sargodha and Mardan.

Within only a few months of their launch, the ride-hailing services Careem and Uber both became favoured modes of intracity travel for thousands of urban Pakistanis, especially women.

Careem in a press release today said it would be providing 'Go' and rickshaw services in Quetta, with other vehicle categories to follow in the future.

Careem Managing Director Junaid Iqbal in the press release said: "We are proud to lead the way for Quetta’s growth and progress through this launch."

"We tailor our services to ensure we offer convenient options that have a meaningful impact on the local population of every city.'

According to a Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) 2016 research paper 'Citizens’ Perceptionsof Urban Public Services', 67 per cent of households in Quetta were not satisfied with the condition of vehicles providing public transportation. 74pc termed the system unreliable, and 71pc said fares were 'bad' or 'very bad'.

The report said that the percentages of disappointed citizens with respect to existing modes of public transport "are significantly higher in Karachi, Sukkur and Quetta".

A mass transit train system was approved for Quetta in 2016. Although work on the system, which is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, was launched the same year, its completion is expected in 2019.