Back in the day, maneuvering Kampala traffic or hooking up a late night Taxi was a long hustle for trust & safety in the long queue. From the time Uber activated the Banana Republic in 2016, the story is so far different from what the early 21st-century industry had to offer. Although conventional taxi firms like Quick taxi and Friendship already had a share in the transport sector, dynamic ride hailing services like Uber, Taxify, Safeboda & DialJack have impacted the industry with a big push to the future of a modern day transport sector.
Whether a rider is travelling to the East or West, ride hailing services have poised to be the ultimate solution as drivers never mind about the distances to cover. The rating system is normally per distance covered and hours taken and other subtle charges. For instance, apps like Taxify & Uber allow users to even enter any locations known by Google. However, this means you can travel to any area as long as you are within the zone or charged out of the zone fees.
According to a recent study conducted by the team at Techjaja. Safeboda seems to be ruling its own pioneered yard that is Boda Boda hailing outbidding its competitors. However, Its undeniably true that Taxify lies between the Taxi hailing leader Uber and a section of loyal riders tuned to the company’s Boda hailing options. Perhaps, one may wonder what riders base on to consider their favorite service to ride with. We decided to take a quick ranking study on a base population of 100 riders and here are the findings.
Boda hailing services stats
| COMPANY | Score |
|---|---|
| Uber Boda | 20 |
| Safeboda | 45 |
| Dial Jack | 5 |
| Taxify Boda | 30 |
Taxi-hailing stats
| SERVICE | Score |
|---|---|
| Taxify | 40 |
| Little Cab | 2 |
| Uber | 58 |
| Mondo ride | 0 |
The serious contenders and how they lead in ride hailing services
Although the Kenyan based Little cab service launched in Uganda sometime in May this year. The firm has raised a few eyebrows with a few drivers opting to shift to the Taxi-only app that battles with 3-4 option co-services like Taxify & Uber.
In a taxi Hailing environment, Taxify & Uber are a favorite to the majority with the latter taking a Lion’s share in the industry. However, the rhythm of moto-taxi hailing options has overshadowed the Taxi hailing variants with orange motorbikes evidenced at every traffic stop lights within Kampala. Henceforth, In Kampala so far, Taxify, Uber, Quick Taxi & Friendship are the top contenders with minors like Little cab & Mondo ride struggling for the top slot in Uganda.
Boda hailing services, the option with high evening traffic
Talk about evening traffic and welcome Boda hailing options to their best times. While its very difficult to hook up a Safeboda in Kampala during this time. It’s ultimately the same situation on all apps posing either the busy trips flag or no drivers available.
In 2014, Safeboda was started as a simple startup with barely any riders adopting to the service and drivers paying a penny for having the company gear per week__As revealed in a discussion with some of the Veteran drivers. But then, from the time Uber popped into Kampala with better taxi hailing services. The story has never been the same and as per the time of writing, the Boda hailing dice lies between Safeboda & Taxify boda maximumly as we explored the approximate number of drivers these competing firms have registered over time.
Approx Number of Drivers registered In Kampala per company
| Service | Approx Reg Drivers |
|---|---|
| Safeboda | 5,800 |
| Taxify Boda | 800-1000 |
| Uber Boda | 800-1200 |
| Dial Jack | 400-1000 |
How about the Coverage
| Service | Coverage Areas |
|---|---|
| Uber | Kampala, Entebbe |
| Safeboda | Kampala |
| Taxify | Kampala, Entebbe |
| Mondo ride | Kampala, Entebbe |
| Little Cab | Kampala, Entebbe |
| Dial Jack | Kampala |
Our Verdict
We all perfectly know whats coming in future. The Government may ban several ordinary transport services paving way for the modern-day ride-hailing services that are only available in select cities currently. Perhaps, after generating our ride hailing findings. Share with us your views about the state of ride-hailing services per company in Uganda in the poll below.
