ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- Uber Technologies Inc. says it has brought its ridesharing platform to Newfoundland and Labrador.

The U.S. tech company says its services will be available throughout the Avalon Peninsula with St. John's as the region's main service area.

The company is asking people travelling in the province to be patient because wait times may be long as the service gets up and running.

It says reliability will increase throughout the peninsula in the coming weeks and months as more drivers join the platform.

Uber is already in 140 municipalities in Canada and more than 10,000 cities globally.

As it has expanded, the company has garnered criticism for using gig workers to ferry around customers rather than salaried employees.