Ethiopian taxi-hailing app has now been given a pass to get in the Kenyan market.
Uber and other taxi companies generally don’t own cars and while this model has been working for sometime, there have been several complaints from both sides. For starters, drivers often complain that they don’t make enough money because a majority of them don’t actually own the cars while at the same time the investors feel as if they receive a lot of complaints from the car owners.
With these complaints in mind , Taxiye’s CEO Eve Maina has decided to invest 2 billion in the business by enlisting boda boda riders and cab drivers by providing them with the motorcycles and cars through a lease. The cars and boda’s will be leased out for just KSh 250 daily with the eventuality that they will own the car or boda as long as they remain in business.
The payment plan varies for both the boda and cars.
For “boda boda” riders will range between three to 18 months. For drivers, they are looking at 3 years. This new company has the support from the Kenyan government which hopes that this will create employment opportunities for the youth.
The ICT cabinet secretary Joe Mucheru had this to say:
“The partnership with Taxiye is part of our mandate to see the sector improve services. It looks to impart discipline, reliability and training to offer the best service. As National Chair, I will do my best to support the sector to grow and become better each day. We thank Taxiye for this noble support they have brought to the sector,”