Kenyan company launches taxi sharing app charging zero per cent commission
Instead of taking commissions, the App takes a flat rate membership fee of Sh2,000 ($20) a month from drivers.
It also comes with an additional cab sharing facility that saves riders up to 50 per cent of fares, in a bid to reduce air pollution and traffic jams within Nairobi City.
“ShareCAB is a state-of-the-art app, offering every facility in Kenya for app-based taxis, plus new models on ride sharing, zero commission so that drivers earn far more per ride, and a green motivation in reducing rides through sharing,” said Virscom Founder and CEO, Mwakio Ngale.
Instead of taking commissions, the App takes a flat rate membership fee of Sh2,000 ($20) a month from drivers, who typically earn from Sh40, 000 ($400) and upwards, making for a fee equivalent to 5 per cent, and often far lower.
Apart from that drivers also earn more as riders share, gaining up to 38 per cent on combining passengers on the same route, even as the passengers themselves travel for less.
Riders get discounts of up to 50 per cent by sharing rides, making ShareCAB one of the most affordable taxi hailing Apps in the country.
“My motivation was to create a platform where costs can be drastically reduced for customers and increased for drivers, in a combination that was smart and also improved on our carbon footprint. At the end of the day, every shared ride will make a better environment for our kids,” he said.
ShareCAB, which was built by a team of Kenyan developers, comes with security features such as an SOS button that instantly calls the police and loved ones if riders see or experience anything untoward during a ride.
The app also allows riders to vet other ride-share customers so that if a rider sees a profile they find worrying, they can deny the share request and it’s queued to a different rider.
“If you choose to Share, the in-App features gives the first customer the privilege to select who to share the ride with after a quick view of the customer’s profile during the shared ride request. The selections take seconds and saves up to half a fare while leaving speed unimpaired,”. Mawakio added.
The launch comes at a time when the taxi industry in Kenya is going through bumps and potholes, on Monday Uber, Taxify, Mondo-Ride and Little Cab went on strike citing poor pay and poor working conditions.
ShareCAB is available on Google play store.
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