South African taxi council launching new e-hailing app in October – Details

The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) has partnered with local e-hailing entrepreneurs to launch Teksi Ride, a new e-hailing app for metered taxis, said Sizwe Mvubu, national chairperson for metered taxis at Santaco.

Not intended to be a direct competitor to the likes of Uber and Bolt, Mvubu told eNCA that Teksi Ride is an answer to outcries from long-time metered taxi users who complained to Santaco that they want a similar service to other ride-hailing apps.

The benefit of the Santaco-related service is that riders now have a 24-hour contact centre to voice any concerns they might have, as well as an in-app emergency feature.

Teksi Ride is already available to download on Apple and Android devices but will only start offering rides to customers from 1 October 2023, said Mvubu.

YoTaxi! and Shuma South Africa, two other ride-hailing apps also created in partnership with Santaco, are already operating.

What you need to know

According to Mvubu, Teksi Ride will work similar to other e-hailing apps in which a user can request a ride to their desired location, and the nearest metered taxi will then be able to accept the trip and pick them up.

The app will open its doors to all vehicles with operator’s licences in South Africa and through this it will ensure vehicle compliance and safety for riders, as well as avoid oversaturation of drivers.

Additionally, all drivers and operators on the platform will be required to be registered under Santaco and undergo training.

Regarding the costs, Santaco has been “working closely” with its business partners to ensure that the prices are “almost similar to what people are enjoying currently,” said Mvubu.

ITWeb reports that the app will charge customers R8.50 per kilometre and that a 20% commission fee is deducted from driver earnings.

At launch, only metered taxis and “mini cars” will be available to book and they will focus primarily on short inner-city trips, but a driver is allowed to accept long-distance trips should they feel up to the task, for example, from Johannesburg to KwaZulu-Natal, said Mvubu.