- Title: NIGERIA: New taxi app helps improve transport services in Nigeria.
- Date: 10th September 2013
- Summary: LAGOS, NIGERIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) STREET SCENES WOMAN HAILING TAXI TAXIS DRIVING ALONG ROAD VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF EASY TAXI OFFICES (SOUNDBITE) (English) MATTEO MARTINELY, BUSINESS DEVELOPER, EASY TAXI SAYING: "It works over any sort of phone like blackberry, android, windows and even IOS. Two of them will appear, the first one is the app for the users, so you just need, if you are a user, you just want to like call a taxi, you just type on the app, it's going to ask you to install it, and after installation, it's going to check that you are agreeing with the term of the app, you just need to accept it." VARIOUS OF BANKOLE CARDOSO, MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER, EASY TAXI TALKING TO COLLEAGUE (SOUNDBITE) (English) BANKOLE CARDOSO, MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER, EASY TAXI SAYING "The market for taxis in Nigeria is very inefficient, it's very hard for a customer like yourself to go out on the streets and pick up a taxi, to hail a taxi. This removes that inefficiency. You can be at home, you can be at the office, you can be in the cinema, you can be in the mall, and you just request a taxi from your smartphone with one click, and the nearest driver comes to you. You get all of his information, so it's very safe in that respect, you can track him in real time, you know exactly where he is. We have all of the information of all of our drivers." VARIOUS OF MAXINE BENSON, LAGOS RESIDENT BOOKING A TAXI ON HER PHONE VARIOUS OF PHONE LUCKY ENOMA, EASY TAXI DRIVER ON ROAD STICKER READING: "EASY TAXI" DRIVER USING PHONE VARIOUS OF ENOMA DRIVING THROUGH TOWN (SOUNDBITE) (English) LUCKY ENOMA, EASY TAXI DRIVER SAYING "What a day, I am going out to go and pick a passenger now, I think it's a very good day, a passenger is waiting for me now, I need to go and pick the passenger." TAXI ARRIVING AT CLIENTS HOUSE ENOMA USING THE PHONE APP TO ALERT HIS CLIENT OF HIS ARRIVAL VARIOUS OF MAXINE BENSON LEAVING HER HOUSE AND GETTING INTO TAXI (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAXINE BENSON ENTERING THE TAXI AND SAYING: "Good afternoon, I am going to "Four Points" in V.I." DRIVER CHANGING THE TAXI GEAR (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAXINE BENSON, LAGOS RESIDENT SAYING: "Well I prefer "Easy Taxi" because first of all it's safe and reliable, second of all I don't have to go through the hassles of standing on a street and calling a cab. With "Easy Taxi", it's just one tap away on my phone, I get the drivers details before he even arrives, and once he arrives, all I have to do is just step out of my house and he is waiting for me outside." VARIOUS OF A TAXI RANK TAXI DRIVERS TALKING MORE OF TAXIS CAR STICKER (SOUNDBITE) (Yoruba) SAFI ADEYEMI, YELLOW CAB DRIVER SAYING: "We have been in this business for a long time, we know the in and out of taxi operations, there is no new innovation they will introduce that will scare us. They are still new in the business; therefore, I don't think this innovation is going to last long before it collapses." VARIOUS OF VEHICLES DRIVING PAST STREET
- Embargoed: 25th September 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Nigeria
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: Communications,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVA9D7924BXVWC8PFXVM5QHA2WJC
- Story Text: For millions living in Nigeria's boisterous city, traffic in Lagos is a daily occurrence and to get to your destination in time, one must learn to navigate through the city's crowded streets.
Public transportation in the commercial city remains a huge problem and has recently worsened following the Lagos state government ban on motorcycles and outdated buses in parts of the state.
To try and improve things, a German start up company known as Rocket International recently launched a taxi service called 'Easy Taxi' that uses an app to help residents book cabs from the comfort of their homes or offices instead of having to hail down a taxi.
Within six weeks of the Easy Taxi launch, forty five taxi drivers are already on the platform and over 200 people have downloaded the app.
The service, which targets Nigeria's growing middle class, enables smartphone users to download the app at no cost and make taxi bookings.
"It works over any sort of phone like blackberry, android, windows and even IOS. Two of them will appear, the first one is the app for the users, so you just need, if you are a user, you just want to like call a taxi, you just type on the app, it's going to ask you to install it, and after installation, it's going to check that you are agreeing with the term of the app, you just need to accept it," said Matteo Martinely, Easy Taxi's business developer.
The company has already invested 10 million US dollars in the African market with operations in Nigeria and Egypt.
Bankole Cardosso the managing director of Easy Taxi says he saw an opportunity to make a difference in how taxis operate in Nigeria and decided to utilise it.
"The market for taxis in Nigeria is very inefficient, it's very hard for a customer like yourself to go out on the streets and pick up a taxi, to hail a taxi. This removes that inefficiency. You can be at home, you can be at the office, you can be in the cinema, you can be in the mall, and you just request a taxi from your smartphone with one click, and the nearest driver comes to you. You get all of his information, so it's very safe in that respect, you can track him in real time, you know exactly where he is. We have all of the information of all of our drivers," said Cardosso.
Lagosians like Maxine Benson have signed up for the new service partly because they know that there is a crew that monitors the whole operation.
The driver's details like names, vehicle numbers, car models and phone numbers are saved on a database.
Registered drivers on the platform are also spared the trouble of driving from one location to another in search of clients as all they have to do is wait for an alert giving them details on where to pick up clients.
Lucky Enoma, who runs a cab business in the city, has just received an alert for a pick up.
"What a day, I am going out to go and pick a passenger now, I think it's a very good day, a passenger is waiting for me now, I need to go and pick the passenger," said taxi driver, Enoma.
The internet based company does not have its own taxis but targets hundreds of cab drivers in the city who are willing to be on the program, and will pay them a commission for each client referral.
As a marketing tool, Easy Taxi also offers cab drivers, smart phones under payment plan if they cannot afford to buy one.
When a client books for a taxi, an alert goes to the closest drivers around and the first driver to accept the beep is the one to pick the client.
For Maxine Benson, the "Easy Taxi" app has made her cab experience a lot easier since it was launched in the country.
"Well I prefer "Easy Taxi" because first of all it's safe and reliable, second of all I don't have to go through the hassles of standing on a street and calling a cab. With "Easy Taxi", it's just one tap away on my phone, I get the drivers details before he even arrives, and once he arrives, all I have to do is just step out of my house and he is waiting for me outside," said Lagos resident," said Benson.
Some taxi drivers who have been plying Lagos routes for decades are yet to buy into the new idea; many are sceptical about its benefits in the long run, citing challenges like unreliable internet services in the country.
Safi Adeyemi, a Lagos based taxi driver has been in the business for 20 years.
"We have been in this business for a long time, we know the in and out of taxi operations, there is no new innovation they will introduce that will scare us. They are still new in the business, therefore, I don't think this innovation is going to last long before it collapses," he said.
The Easy Taxi initiative is already operating in 17 European and Asian countries with plans in place to expand into other parts of Africa. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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