CC image courtesy of Goya Bauwens, on Flickr.
Africa Internet Holding (AIH)-owned taxi app Easy Taxi has signed up 200 drivers and recorded 300 rides since a soft launch in Nairobi, which it attributes to the high usage of smartphones amongst drivers.
Easy Taxi launched in Kenya in April following launches in Nigeria, Ghana and Egypt, marketing through social media and word of mouth. The app is available on Windows, iOS and Android.
Kenya managing director Peng Chen told HumanIPO high penetration of smartphones among taxi drivers had enabled a swift uptake.
“We are pretty lucky in Nairobi as 15-20 per cent of Nairobi taxi drivers have smartphones, all of them are very eager to sign up with the app. A lot of it has to do with the way you approach them,” he said.
Chen said people are willing to use the service because of its level of trust and transparency.
“A lot of passengers have asked me who is going to carry me and drivers are also afraid of carrying just anyone off the street,” he said.
The app, therefore, has a number of features addressing these issues, allowing users to see the name, photo, phone number and car model of the driver, while a GPS feature aided by Google Maps shows their exact whereabouts.
There are different prices for the different destinations, all fixed, which were arrived at after consultations with both drivers and passengers. The mode of payment is still cash, although the company is in talks with mobile network operators to have electronic modes of payment integrated into the system.
Easy Taxi, which is present in 28 countries globally, is yet to make revenues in Kenya as they are giving drivers a chance to see if the app is working for them.
“We are not charging because we need to grow with our drivers, we need to know how much they make in a day, then we can start charging a percentage of it at the end of the month,” said Chen.
Among the strategies put in place to ensure the company is a success in Kenya is a focus on driver and passenger acquisition, while Easy Taxi is also putting a strong focus on customer service.
It is concentrating on upmarket Nairobi, which Chen by saying these places have the best traction. He said, however, plans are in place to ensure availability in other areas of Nairobi as well as cities such as Mombasa, Nanyuki and Naivasha.
