The scramble for riders in Abuja is set to begin as Taxify launches its eTransport service with wonderful incentives for riders. It doesn’t come as a surprise because Nigeria is marketplace itself. The period of telecom operators came and ended with ‘a unity tariff’; Pay TV operators also had a scramble-episode which is currently unresolved. Sometime last year, Uber declared that Lagos had a larger market than London. So, it didn’t come as a surprise that a new kid hit the block-Taxify.
More than a hundred partners have already signed up on the platform in Abuja. As part of their launch, Taxify is offering 40% discount to riders this November and the partners have agreed to accept the fare. With such cheap fares, will a customer be able to complain if the car is in a sorry state? What about the drivers?
The Taxify’s Operations Manager, Uche Okafor says that the eTransport company is set to deliver quality services at affordable rates. He said:
‘We are excited to work here and have a solid team on ground. We are confident that Taxify can effectively contribute to healthy competition by improving the quality of service and lowering the prices for the end customer.’
Abuja is the second city for the transport company to invade. The Operations Manager referred to it as ‘an exciting and thriving market with an outgoing population for private urban transport’. Taxify says it’s offering to take only 15% commission from the partners, compared to the 25% that its competitor takes, leaving the partners with more earnings.
Accommodating so many partners with this incentive will attract both wobbly and sturdy cars. The riders will definitely be happy to spend less for transport. But will they get the desired comfort and quality with such cheap fares? Nevertheless, if drivers have such incentive, it’s only logical that they reciprocate the favour by treating riders well, I suppose.
This plan will definitely give Uber a run in Abuja like it did in Lagos. Uber has been criticised greatly for the high commission it takes from the partners, such that many drivers find other means to exploit the riders or bypass the exorbitant commission charge. Mr Uche Okafor has stated that Taxify has a support system in place that would ensure that the partners are well-treated.
Eventually, Uber drivers will register as partners on Taxify’s platform. In the end, the drivers are the most important in this scenario. Without the drivers, there’s no eTransport company, neither Uber nor Taxify.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
