From disputes to court cases, it appears that metered taxis are the least of Uber’s problems, as another competitor has entered the private transportation industry. Taxify, an Estonia based-taxi booking service is currently offering their services in Johannesburg and Cape Town along with other cities earmarked in the near future.
How does it work?
Taxify works on the same principle as Uber, it doesn’t employ taxi drivers but allows them to make use of their technological platform. The mobile application is available for android, iOS and windows phones.
Clint Sheraton, marketing manager at Taxify added, “We started out in late 2014 with our target market being the metered taxi companies, offering them our world class Taxi Dispatcher system which would generate them additional business over and above their current business and reduce costs by ensuring that drivers are efficient on the road by saving on fuel and maintenance.”
Like Uber, Taxify, which relaunched in April of this year, offers the following services:
- Driver and car details: After requesting their driver, riders can view their driver’s details and the car’s description.
- Track your trip: Riders can track their trip by viewing the route on their map via the app; the rider is able to track the car on route to being fetched and riders will also know exactly where they are heading to and if they are on the correct route.
- Payment: Riders can pay with either cash or card.
- Rate your driver: At the end of each trip, riders can rate their driver’s performance.
- 24/7 customer support: if you have any questions you can contact their customer support team via phone or email.
How does it differ from Uber?
It differs from Uber byoffering consumers, who are non app users or cannot get internet connectivity in certain areas at times, the option of making use of their national call centre ( 0861 (TAXIFY).
At 20% - Uber charges its drivers more commission than Taxify does. Sheraton explained, “Our requirements for on boarding drivers are more stringent and therefore this creates less risk to riders and in turn we have more quality drivers. Our rate per km, R7.50, is currently the same [as Uber’s] and we only take 15% commission and therefore have happier drivers as well. We also offer both our riders and drivers local support without having to wait days for their requests to be answered. Since our launch we have over 15,000 riders who are using our service and growing daily.”
Driver’s requirements
All drivers have a professional driving permit (PDP), liability insurance with a minimum cover of R5 million, an operating card (Double disk), a DEKRA inspection report and vehicles are no older than six years. Drivers also go through a two hour training programme on the application itself and customer service.
Taxify operates in ten other countries, including: Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia, The Netherlands and Mexico with plans to open several new countries in Europe.
To download the Taxify app, go to: App store, Google Playstore, Windows store or you can visit their website.
For more information, click here.