A new home-grown ride-hailing platform is launching in South Africa this May aiming to address all the complaints consumers have with established apps like Uber and Bolt.
Called Shesha, the app will launch in Gauteng first and it is currently in the process of signing up drivers so that there will be enough supply to satisfy demand when it goes live on the first day of next month.
The main selling point of Shesha is that its prices are fixed and not affected by elements such as trip demand, the time of day, or the weather.
“If you know that you travel 5km from point A to point B every day, the price will be fixed whether it is in the evening, whether it’s peak hour, or whether it’s raining,” said Shesha spokesperson Nomsa Mdhuli in a 702 interview.
This simplifies budgeting for Shesha users as it enables them to reliably plan ahead for their weekly travel expenditure.
In addition, Shesha claims that it offers a number of benefits to its riders over and above the more well-known players in the industry.
This includes digital-only payments via the Shesha app’s S-wallet and the ability to add stops to a trip if you want to pick someone up or drop something off.
There is also a feature called “Emergency Ride” which allows users with more than 10 past trips to their name to request a ride of less than 5km and pay for it at a later date.
Safety comes first
Mdhuli said that a main concern for both e-hailing patrons and drivers is personal safety, hence, it has implemented several measures to guarantee that its users feel at ease.
The company validates the identities of all new signups through the Department of Home Affairs before they are allowed to interact on the app, background checks are performed on all new drivers to ensure they have a clean criminal record, and all vehicles are checked for roadworthiness before they are authorised to operate.
Additionally, a one-time pin is provided for each ride to confirm that the correct drivers are matched with the correct riders, and the entire platform operates cashless through the Shesha S-wallet into which users can deposit funds either via their banking apps or through an ATM using a unique wallet number.
This reduces the instances of haggling between riders and drivers, and particularly improves safety for drivers as they are now less of a target for robbers and hijackers, said Mdhuli.
Passengers can also share their rides with friend and family to enhance the feeling of safety, and the Shesha app incorporates a panic button that users can press should they feel their life is in danger at any time during the trip.
Finally, Shesha has struck partnerships with the South African National Taxi Council and National Taxi Alliance to reduce friction between the e-hailing and taxi industries.
“We have signed a memorandum of understanding between the e-hailing associations in Gauteng as well as the Gauteng taxi industry just to make sure that their operations are harmonious, because that’s also been a safety factor as far as passengers are concerned,” said Mdhuli.
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