WORLDWIDE TAXI FOCUS from South Africa
SOUTH AFRICANS BUILD UBER-LIKE SERVICE FOR MINIBUS TAXI INDUSTRY
A new digital platform which has recently been launched in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town aims to connect com- muters with registered taxi drivers at the click of a button. Loop is a Cape Town-based tech start-up that enables commuters to book a minibus taxi for one-off trips. The platform was designed with input from local taxi associations, drivers, and commuters. Loop drivers are registered taxi drivers that are part of a taxi association. Payments can be made in cash or electronically. Loop founder Imtiyaaz Riley says that he got the idea for the platform from seeing challenges experienced by members and customers of the Manenberg Taxi Association, where his father is also a member. He says the platform aims to solve issues including digital payments and accountability within the taxi industry. “We’re trying to create an extra market where taxi drivers can also benefit and drive more taxi trips daily with a seamless and safer approach.” Jamie Wyngaard, Loop chief experience officer, explains that taxis are usually full in the mornings and late afternoons, but at other times drivers struggle to find customers. “We are giving them access to clients that they weren’t able to get before.” Like a trip on an e-hailing service, clients will be able to message a number on their WhatsApp and insert their current location and where they want to go. Clients will then receive prompts on where to wait, how much the trip will cost, who the driver is and the registration of the vehicle. Loop is still going through testing phases and not accepting trips for one person only. Wyngaard says the platform solves many safety issues for passengers and drivers.
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He says trips are expected to cost about R2.50 (12p) per km per person. The service is intended to operate round the clock. Wyngaard says they are figuring out which routes are best to pilot the project and currently have the buy- in of about 15 drivers, mostly from the Cape Flats, with another 2,500 drivers waiting for the project to accelerate. Loop taxi drivers must have valid licences, must belong to a taxi association, and must have roadworthy vehicles manufactured in 2015 or later.
TAXI STRIPPED & DRIVER MURDERED WITHIN HOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA
Indications of a trend where Toyota Quantum taxi drivers are being hijacked on the North Coast Road in KwaZulu-Natal, a coastal South African province, are emerging, with the latest incident resulting in a person being killed. Marshall Security responded to what was initially said to have been a pedestrian vehicle accident, with initial reports indicating a pedestrian had been hit by a taxi which had fled the scene. When response officers arrived at the scene, they found the body of a taxi driver on the side of the road. He had been fatally shot. A spent 9mm cartridge was reportedly found at the scene. In order to locate the missing Quantum, Tracker SA and Marshall Security’s special operations team travelled to the last known location of the vehicle, a sugar cane field west of the Tongaat area. The vehicle had been stripped, with car seats, door panels and headlights found dumped in the field. The rest of the taxi was found roughly 400m away. Marshall Security said this was the third incident over the past two months taking place under similar circumstances, with Toyota Quantum taxi drivers being hijacked on North Coast Road. The suspects involved in the murder and vehicle stripping are still at large.
NOVEMBER 2022 PHTM
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