YellowBIRD is a new entrant into the ride-hailing business in Uganda, joining the likes of Uber, Bolt, SafeBoda among others. The space is so competitive but as more players join, service and features become the only way to differentiate oneself from the other.
With that said, YellowBIRD has launched a carpooling feature in its app to allow riders to share costs with drivers plying the same route.
First, what is carpooling?
This is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in the car, and prevents the needs for others to drive to a location themselves.
And in so doing, accruing costs like fuel are shared amongst the car occupants.
How does YelloBIRD’s carpooling feature work?
People with spare seats in their cars advertise their journey and the cost per seat to prospective riders through the YellowBIRD app.
The prospective riders then find drivers plying the same journey and book plus pay for the seat.
The in-app chat feature allows both the rider and the driver to chat and arrange for the journey, including details of where and when to meet.
How to pay?
The YellowBIRD app allows for payments via mobile money and VISA but the rider is required to meet 50% of the fare to qualify. Also, the carpooling feature is limited to long journeys as of this writing.
Safety
As is always the case, the safety questions come up but YellowBIRD requires everyone to register with a government-issued ID and the also use the rating system to boost trust within the carpooling community.
